VANCOUVER | Welcome to the Vansterdam drug war history tour, I’ll be your guide.

Photo by Markos Mant on Unsplash

Actually, Vancouver pot activist David Malmo-Levine of the Vancouver School of Drug War History and Organic Cultivation (AKA Herb School) will be. He hosts this  recently-launched, occasionally informative, but sometimes pseudo-historic Drug War History Tour. It takes locals and tourists alike trekking through Vancouver’s weed-friendly downtown neighbourhoods.

I went on the tour myself, and here are just a few of the unique highlights:

Victory Square park.

Victory Square is the home of the “X Town” Time Capsule, which is supposed to be opened in 2042. We were told the capsule was placed by Ian Hunter (another [former] cannabis activist) in order to let the citizens of the future know what an “insanely cool place” Vancouver was in the early ‘90s. The contents of the capsule aren’t clear, but Levine says, “knowing Hunter, there’s probably something illegal or useful in there.”

War, what’s it good for?

A stop at Victory Square’s WWI Monument will teach you that well-known German drug company Bayer was responsible for the poisonous gas used by the German army against Canada in France during WWI. According to Levine, Bayer is now trying to “monopolize the legal medical marijuana market”. I believe the moral of this story is meant to be ‘Never again’, only in this case, they mean it in terms of being capitalistically hoodwinked by German chemical companies. Doesn’t have quite the same ring, but okay.

Even arson can’t get us down.

“The Pot Block” is the colloquial name for the 300 block of West Hastings St., which was partially destroyed by fire in April of 2004. Blunt Brothers Café was the primary target, but The BC Marijuana Party Bookstore, the home of Pot-TV, Marc Emery’s Direct Seed Sales, and the Urban Shaman, were also damaged. Now rebounding nicely, the Pot Block’s many businesses are back to selling seeds, paraphernalia, and other weedy treats.

Grasstown bust down.

Back in the early 70s, we were told at least 1,000 people flooded Gastown to protest crackdowns on pot users and the illegality of marijuana. Levine tells us that police on horseback arrived in riot gear to break up the gathering. A judicial inquiry into the event criticized this action by Vancouver’s coppers, calling it a “police riot.”

Jimmy was (maybe, possibly?) here.

Say hello to the Lotus Hotel. It’s not particularly striking, but Levine says Tommy Chong (of Cheech and Chong fame) “maybe … according to some people … is rumoured to have” given Jimmy Hendrix his first stage break here. Heady stuff.

So the tour’s not quite an academic adventure. That’s okay. It still sort of fun, informative, and highly unusual.

Levine’s hope is that by educating the public, he’ll get one step closer to his ultimate goal: drug peace.

And he’s not just blowing smoke.

Want to experience the Vansterdam tour? Head to Victory Square on a Tuesday or Sunday at 3pm. A donation of $3 to $30 is suggested, but not required. [Remember, this piece was written in 2005. I’m not sure this tour is still running.]

A version of this piece was published in Dose, June 16, 2005 and is shown below. More culture and trends pieces are here.

Published in Dose, June 11, 2005.