Canada - Vancouver Has them too

[MrJim]

Hey, I just thought that I would start a strain about canadian "Coffeeshops". Ours are a little different from the Dutch because, as a rule of thumb, you cannot buy weed there. There are, from time to time, shops that pop up which do sell weed, but they tend to get shut down rather quickly. Smoking inside the shop is allowed, however it is polite to buy something there. I am not sure which ones are currently open, now that I live out of the city, but Hastings and Commercial are 2 streets that frequently have them. Yeehaa!

[oldman]

so letme get this straight, you can go in but weed to smoke in there, but cannot buy any to leave with, no doggy bags or nothing. Please would anyone describe the practices in Vancouver and maybe some current prices and varieties. Sounds interesting I hope it will soon catch on in the states. Now all we got to do is get that no good bible bangingrich kid from Texas out of office and we'll be set. They'll be able to let the gas prices go back down too.

[Cure20]

Yeah Vancouver not only has these shops, but they also have something called "Safe Injection sites" so junkies that are on the streets can go into one of these places, get a fresh needle, sit down in their own booth, and "safely" inject the drug of choice. Then some times they get fed.


The purpose of these Safe Injection Site's is to stop the transfer of aids via. sharing needles with other people. As well as stop poeple from over dosing.

[Cure20]

453 W. 12th Ave Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4 phone: 604.871.6483 fax: 604.871.6488
www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/fourpillars
CITY OF VANCOUVER
FOUR PILLARS DRUG STRATEGY
SUPERVISED INJECTION SITES (SISs)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What is a supervised injection site (or “safe injection site”)?
A supervised injection site is a controlled health care setting where drug users inject
drugs under supervision and receive health care, counselling, and referral to health
and social services, including drug treatment.
Q: What kind of services does the supervised injection site (SIS) provide?
The SIS provides:
• Supervision of injections, including emergency response to drug overdoses;
• Injection-related first aid (such as wound and abscess care);
• Assessment and referral to primary health care and service providers;
• Harm reduction teaching and counselling;
• Exchanges of condoms, needles and other injecting equipment.
Q: Why is there a supervised injection site in Vancouver?
Vancouver has an open drug scene and one of the largest concentrations of injection
drug users in North America, centred in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. HIV/AIDS
and hepatitis C infection rates for Vancouver’s injection drug users have reached
epidemic levels.
Supervised injection sites (SISs) are an immediate harm-reduction measure – the first
in a number of steps that need to be taken to build an integrated system of care that
has the capacity to address a range of drug addiction issues. Vancouver has moved
ahead with harm reduction and the SIS to help prevent the ongoing spread of
HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and drug overdoses and deaths in the city. SISs function as an
important first point of contact for marginalized drug users who cannot be reached by
health care providers through traditional means.
Q: What do you hope to achieve with the SIS?
• To improve the overall health of drug users, including reducing the incidence of
overdose and disease transmission;
• To reduce the harm associated with illicit drug use (e.g. crime, discarded needles,
public drug use;
• To increase appropriate use of health and social services by drug users;
• To reduce health, social, legal and incarceration costs associated with drug use.

[oldman]

yeah, okay but at the coffee shops do you go in and smoke your own or do they actually sell it to you there? I understand the injection sites don't sell dope. If the coffee shops sell weed how much is it usually (per gram)? Do they make sure you smoke it all there. Do they give you the pipe or papers to use? Enlighten me please. My wife has wanted to go to Vancouver for the last several years but I always argue that I don't think theres much to do (party wise is what I'm thinking), so I usually talk her into Vegas instead.

[Cure20]

Originally Posted by MrJim

Ours are a little different from the Dutch because, as a rule of thumb, you cannot buy weed there. There are, from time to time, shops that pop up which do sell weed, but they tend to get shut down rather quickly. Smoking inside the shop is allowed, however it is polite to buy something there.

All the awsers to your questions were already were in the first post.

[Chaote]

In hamilton Ontario there is a coffee shop though the name eludes me in which you can buy THC-less grass and smoke the cops have busted them a cpl times for thc residue on bongs

[polloloco001]

i think safe injection sites are a really good idea. its a sign of a
more mature way of dealing with societies drug issues. maybe the US
will see the light, but probably not, because our leaders are
close-minded and backward thinking.

[Rivet_Head]

Originally Posted by Chaote

In hamilton Ontario there is a coffee shop though the name eludes me in which you can buy THC-less grass and smoke the cops have busted them a cpl times for thc residue on bongs

Who smokes, THC-less weed??

[Alfa]

Damn, they are smoking hemp, instead of marijuana. Will give a headache instead of a high. Tastes the same though.

[oldman]

frankly i don't really get the point if they aren't selling products. i'm sorry I am amercan and that concept in america would just be a point A for the dea boys to hang out and find out who's smoking, follow them, tap their phones, threaten to inform the persons employer etc. and bam --point B you're busted.


what would ultimately make sense would be if it were like amsterdam here. tax the shit do away with drug testing. the $ we save by having 2 million less prisioners could pay for 2 million kids to go to college. maybe one of them could actually go on and do something great. like run a country properly.

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[Psychonautica]

Originally Posted by oldman

frankly i don't really get the point if they aren't selling products. i'm sorry I am amercan and that concept in america would just be a point A for the dea boys to hang out and find out who's smoking, follow them, tap their phones, threaten to inform the persons employer etc. and bam --point B you're busted.

Yes it is true that there is to be no buying or selling of weed inside the Vancouver pot cafes, technically you're not even allowed to discuss where you can buy the chronic inside the premises. But just ask around and the very friendly people will tell you where to find bud, and usually in Vancouver it's always right under your nose.

And the difference between America and Canada is that no one cares in Canada. No one's trying to bust you in Vancouver. There are just WAY too many pot activist stoners for the government to do anything. In fact most of the time if you give the cop a little toke he'll leave you alone, usually they don't even take away your piece (or stash!). The government here regulates the drug trade very tightly, and watches the pot cafes very closely, but it's legal to smoke in them there's no worries.
Also, the Canadian government would have to spend like billions and billions of dollars to keep track of and follow that many individual stoners, and they're just not that interested in tapping phones and informing employers about something pretty much one out of every two people participates in.

[Be-Bop]

They tried to institute both a Heroin program (actually just a trial program) in a couple of the cities in my country, plus there have been attempts to set up SIS's..both have FAILED coz our present Govt. just loves the sound of the 'Zero Tolerance' thing!!


In fact, a couple of years ago (actually, more like 7-8 years ago) when there was REAL talk of these Heroin programs getting off the ground..the Prime Minister invited that fucker "Freeh" or whatever the fuck that guy's name is..he's from the FBI (i think?)..there was a hilarious photo op of the PM with his arm around a very confused FBI guy..he was there to explain 'Zero Tolerance'..but i don't think even this 'law & order' type could understand WHY he was invited, as the drug situations in our respective countries are quite different..


Be-Bop

[Alfa]

Originally Posted by oldman

what would ultimately make sense would be if it were like amsterdam here. tax the shit

Actually the dumb bastards are to chicken shit to tax cannabis in The Netherlands. Taxing means legalisation. Althoug the total country knows that this is the most logical thing to do. At least I haven't heard anyone, who found the current situation logical or practical.

[WrtngCocaineTutorial]

Originally Posted by Alfa

Actually the dumb bastards are to chicken shit to tax cannabis in The Netherlands. Taxing means legalisation. Althoug the total country knows that this is the most logical thing to do. At least I haven't heard anyone, who found the current situation logical or practical.

I think taxing would be the right way to go too. If it would be taxed by the government, they would make money of it, and thus have another reason to keep the coffeeshops.

[fr0d0]

Well I think legalisation is a bad thing... When weed becomes taxable,
prices will probably rise a lot. Dont forget that the government will
probably also put an extra fee on it, like they do with cigarettes. My
personal expectation tells me that we'll be looking at at least double
prices for legal weed. Also, the illegal weed trade will still remain
to exist, as this is not taxable.

[Herbal Remedy]

Originally Posted by fr0d0

Well I think legalisation is a bad thing... When weed becomes taxable,
prices will probably rise a lot. Dont forget that the government will
probably also put an extra fee on it, like they do with cigarettes. My
personal expectation tells me that we'll be looking at at least double
prices for legal weed. Also, the illegal weed trade will still remain
to exist, as this is not taxable.

so when the guy gets it from the supplier for a certain price, then charges ur buddy you get it from an even higher price, and then your buddy turns around and raises the price for you, you wouldnt call that taxing? i mean come on, a pound of weed can equal the cost of a car here in the united states, while i can buy a pound of sugar at the store for under $10. yes, if the government started producing herb, they would want to make money off of it, but its a PLANT, do you realize how cheap it is to grow plants in mass quantity? If the prices ended up staying relatively the same (but legal) i would be shocked (of course still happy it would be legal), but for the prices to be higher because its legal, im just not seeing how that works...

[oldman]

yeah but it would correct prices somewhat. you probably wouldn't have to spend several hundred $ for an oz. of kind B. For those that are unhappy about the fed. or state tax of cannabis, there would also be the legal option of growing your own like there is for foods now. Don't get me wrong I'm against legislation of nearly anything but you don't think this stuff will ever be legal without it do you? We know they are gonna want their share. The only reason they've gottenaway with the cigarette tax is because they can. People stillsmoke that really like it. Price stopped me but to be honest I feel all the better for it. Thanks gov.

[jcdjinn]

Even if prices rise in the Netherlands, they'd probably still be way cheaper than in the U.S.

[Prices are not allowed]

[Schwag]

[Prices are not allowed]

[jcdjinn]

SWIM knows he's being ripped off, but he has no better connections. He's considering getting a medicinal marijuana card by complaining of back pain or something to a doctor.

[Psychonautica]

Originally Posted by jcdjinn

SWIM knows he's being ripped off, but he has no better connections. He's considering getting a medicinal marijuana card by complaining of back pain or something to a doctor.

That seems like a good idea. More and more of swim's friends are getting their cards and tell me it's really worth it. Also, it's damned easy to get a medical card in the LA area. Swim would recommend trying your luck with the clinic near Venice Beach.

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