Vancouver is a mecca for stoners and lovers of the cannabis culture in general. Famous landmarks like The Healing Tree Vancouver and New Amsterdam Café have been drawing people to Vancouver city for decades.
We recently covered how Vancouver, BC, contributed to the history of accessible weed in Canada. Many of the places associated with that tale can be visited first-hand today.
There are also lots of other great places worth visiting in the city that have a deep connection to the marijuana history and cannabis culture of Canada. So, start planning your next adventurous outing with our top-recommended places for weed lovers to visit in Vancouver.
Marc Emery’s Cannabis Culture HQ
Every herb-loving person should start their pilgrimage to Vancouver with a visit to the 300 block of Hastings Street near downtown. There, you can find the world-famous Vancouver dispensary Marc Emery’s Cannabis Culture, which also features a Vapor Lounge where you can smoke your own herb.
As you may have read in our recent history of weed in Vancouver piece, Marc Emery was a counterculture pioneer who helped open the door to legal pot sales and marijuana seed sales throughout North America.
His store and lounge are also host to a seed sanctuary on its second floor as well as the headquarters for magazine and media outlet Cannabis Culture.
Visiting his store is like hitting a heavy dab of culture, history and the latest marijuana trends all in one stop.
New Amsterdam Cafe
Right next door to Marc Emery’s Cannabis Culture HQ, you’ll find the New Amsterdam Cafe Vancouver. You can enjoy great coffee and baked goods worth stopping in for no matter how much weed you smoke!
But the real draw for many Vancouverites and canna-loving visitors is the Vapor Lounge. Vancouver’s “Safe Harbor” laws allow anyone with a medical marijuana card or legally-obtained weed to smoke their own product in public.
The New Amsterdam Cafe Vancouver provides a huge range of services to help make that happen. You can enjoy a Volcano vaporizer, a glass bong, rolling papers or your choice of devices used for smoking marijuana.
They also have a great line of merch, so bring home a souvenir for your friends and family!
The Healing Tree
The Healing Tree Vancouver is possibly the city’s most established and respected Vancouver dispensary in the downtown area. They offer a huge range of the latest devices as well as every type of prepped cannabis product imaginable.
Enjoy sticky dab concentrates, CBD drops, edibles, pre-rolled joints, vape-ready liquid concentrate, topicals and more. The staff is incredibly friendly and always eager to serve both newcomers and long-time Vancouver residents.
The Healing Tree Vancouver chain of stores also operates a smaller shop on East Broadway south of downtown that includes its own Vapour Lounge.
The Healing Center
Not to be confused with The Healing Tree Vancouver, The Healing Center — cleverly initialized as “THC” — is an upscale Vancouver dispensary located on Main Street.
Billed as a medical clinic, entering the store is enough to turn everyone’s expectations on the pot economy upside down. Incredibly clean, well-lit, and with a design that borders on Stanley Kubrick sci-fi, you will feel prestigious just from being able to snag some herb there.
The only catch is you must be a registered member with a verified medical card to enter and make purchases. Once inside, you will find the latest boutique marijuana strains and classic varieties of indica and sativa.
Vancouver Seed Bank
Offering both mail order and in-store pickup, the Vancouver Seed Bank has been a growing presence of the city’s cannabis scene for over a decade. The store is also located right next to the Chinatown Millennium Gate, meaning there are tons of interesting stores and restaurants to peruse after your purchase.
Crowbar Restaurant
You won’t find any cannabis in the Crowbar Restaurant, but you will find hearty, delicious and reasonably priced food to satisfy your munchies.
The space was once home to Mega Ill Pizzeria, the only restaurant in North America (to our knowledge) to offer THC-infused foods on its menus. For a time, Mega Ill allowed any card-carrying medical marijuana users to order THC-infused olive oil on their pizza.
Sadly, Mega Ill closed, but the restaurant that replaced it should at least leave a good taste in your mouth. Delicious burgers, great vegetarian options and other dishes are made using as many locally sourced ingredients as possible.
Just don’t ask them about the weed oil!
Vancouver Art Gallery
The Vancouver Art Gallery is the fifth-biggest art museum in Canada and the biggest west of Toronto. They exhibit both classic and contemporary art featuring artists from all over the world.
Visiting the museum is a must-do in Vancouver, because looking at art while you’re high is fun. The gallery also holds the important distinction of once hosting protests for the annual 4-20 rally and celebration on its front steps.
These days, the 4-20 festival has a more laid-back feel and is hosted on the front lawn, but no one forgets the bravery of the museum to permit cannabis reform advocates to openly protest.
Flower & Freedom Yoga
Flower & Freedom is a pro-cannabis and pro-fitness advocacy group based in Vancouver. They regularly host yoga classes at places like the Aura Health Studio & Vancouver Dispensary.
Not only do lots of people show up for deep stretching and meditation high, but the studio actively encourages it. You can enjoy relaxation, mindfulness and improvement for your body in a beginner-friendly setting.
For other cannabis-infused yoga opportunities, you can try Ganja Yoga at the Cannabis Culture Lounge. One Yoga for the People also hosts regular drop-in classes on Hastings St., giving you the chance to get high at New Amsterdam Cafe Vancouver before you stretch out.
Wreck Beach and Stanley Park
As a final component of your journey, you should take the time to appreciate the beautiful natural scenery around Vancouver.
Nothing’s more natural than the clothing optional Wreck Beach just north of UBC in Pacific Spirit Regional Park. Let loose and get rid of your primitive notions of modesty while enjoying the chill vibes of other beach goers.
If you’d rather keep your clothes on, you can visit Vancouver’s Stanley Park, a sprawling recreational area that boasts lots to see and do. Enjoy the nature paths, look at the totem poles, visit Brockton Point Lighthouse and take a stroll through the Vancouver Aquarium.
All these things are great activities to do after visiting a Vancouver dispensary!
If you can’t make it to Vancouver anytime soon, don’t sweat it. You can still order Canada weed online direct from some of the top businesses.
Check out this page to find the best strains for your symptoms, and to find out how to order weed online.
