Cannabis in Vancouver
Vancouver licensed cannabis shops in 2015, three years before legalization, and its rules from that era still shape the city: stores must be in commercial zones and at least 300 metres from schools, community centres and other cannabis stores. Smoking is banned throughout Vancouver's parks and beaches, with a minimum $250 fine.
Where can you smoke cannabis in Vancouver?
B.C. already bans smoking or vaping cannabis in municipal parks (except designated areas), at playgrounds, sports fields and skate parks, and within 6 metres of doors, windows, air intakes, bus stops and transit shelters (see the B.C. rules). Vancouver layers its own bylaws on top.
The Park Board's smoking bylaw, in place since 2010, covers park land, beaches, the seawall, trails, playgrounds and park restaurant patios, and even the shallow water along the shore. The city's Health By-law bans smoking on restaurant patios and within 6 metres of their edge. B.C. began allowing cannabis smoking on public patios in 2024 where tobacco smoking is allowed, but Vancouver's patio ban means that change doesn't help you here.
| Place | Allowed? | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Your own home, including a private balcony | Allowed | Unless your strata or lease says otherwise |
| Parks, beaches, seawall, trails | Not allowed | Park Board bylaw, $250 minimum fine |
| Restaurant and bar patios | Not allowed | City Health By-law |
| Within 6 m of doors, windows, air intakes | Not allowed | City and provincial law |
| Bus stops and transit shelters (6 m) | Not allowed | Provincial law |
How does Vancouver regulate cannabis stores?
On June 24, 2015, Vancouver became the first Canadian city to license what were then illegal medical marijuana storefronts, over objections from the federal health minister. The rules required a costly licence and a 300-metre separation from schools, community centres, youth facilities and other dispensaries. Of 176 applications, 162 were rejected, most because of the distance rule.
When legalization arrived, council created a "Cannabis Store" zoning category that carried the same requirements over: commercial zones only, 300 metres from schools, community centres and other cannabis stores, a development permit, and a public notice sign on site. Many applicants need a variance, which slows openings. Vancouver also charged Canada's highest cannabis licence fee, about $34,000 a year, until council cut it to $13,500 in 2022 and $5,000 in 2023, the city's break-even cost.
How has cannabis in Vancouver changed since 2018?
Vancouver was the centre of Canada's dispensary era: 176 storefronts applied for city licences in 2015 alone. Many that were refused kept operating, and the city raised its fine from $250 to $1,000 a day. Under provincial licensing the first legal stores didn't open until January 4 and 5, 2019, nearly three months after legalization.
The annual 4/20 protest at Sunset Beach became the city's best-known cannabis event. The Park Board repeatedly refused it a permit because it breaks the parks smoking bylaw and costs the city heavily in cleanup, but it went ahead anyway.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| June 24, 2015 | First Canadian city to license dispensaries; 300 m rule |
| 2015 to 2016 | 162 of 176 applications rejected; unlicensed shops fined |
| 2018 | Council creates the Cannabis Store zoning category ahead of legalization |
| October 17, 2018 | Legalization |
| January 4, 2019 | First legal private store opens |
| 2022 and 2023 | Annual licence fee cut to $13,500, then $5,000 |
What should visitors to Vancouver know?
You must be 19 to buy or use cannabis in B.C. At YVR, smoking or vaping cannabis is allowed only in designated outdoor areas, never inside the terminal. YVR has U.S. preclearance, so on most U.S. flights you are treated as entering the U.S. before you board: don't bring cannabis to the gate, and remember carrying any amount across the border is illegal whatever the destination's own laws. To check a product's contents, see how to read a cannabis label.
