Cannabis policy activist and entrepreneur Brenton Raby is the founder of Yaherb. (Submitted photo/Brenton Raby)

By Jennifer Olson

cannabis in the Kootenays

B.C. cafe aims to uphold cannabis culture and ignite tourism efforts

Oct 23, 2023 | 7:00 AM

Despite having 60 establishments that are licensed to serve alcohol, Nelson, B.C. has no venues where one can go to consume cannabis in public.

While this deficit is the result of policy over preference, it seems reasonable that B.C.’s (and Canada’s) self-proclaimed cannabis capital would have establishments for cannabis enthusiasts to gather and celebrate the decades-old unique culture of cannabis in the Kootenays.

Cannabis policy activist and entrepreneur Brenton Raby is the founder of Yaherb, a Nelson, B.C. culture cafe offering all the regular coffee shop fare, as well cannabis smoking accessories, rolling papers, pipes, bongs and cannabis apparel. Raby is passionate about policy reform and awaits the day where B.C.’s tourism and cannabis sectors can work together to preserve and promote the province’s unshakeable cannabis culture.

Yaherb is geared towards taking part in cannabis tourism and community growth.

“My vision for Yaherb cafe is that it becomes a destination for people who are visiting B.C., who want to experience cannabis culture,” Raby shared.

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“We know that in B.C., up to 94 per cent of people who consume cannabis want to have public consumption spaces. To come together as a community and a culture is something that Yaherb cafe can provide – a venue for us to prosper and share. Nelson has the potential to be a cannabis destination for visitors from all over the world.”

Yaherb’s location is perched above Nelson’s historic Baker street, and the building itself is part of significant local cannabis history and nostalgia. The building was the home to the Holy Smoke Culture Shop, a cannabis dispensary and gathering place that remained in operation for a decade – years before legalization.

“Holy Smoke is a part of Yaherb’s background,” Raby noted.

“Lonely Planet had Holy Smoke in so many of their guidebooks, and people would come from all over the world to see it, it was awesome. It makes me happy to meet people from places like Japan who show up here to see Holy Smoke, because it’s still in the Lonely Planet Guide to Canada.”

While Raby one day dreams of a cannabis cafe where patrons can enjoy cannabis in a welcoming, connective setting, he elaborates on a specific policy that prevents cannabis tourism from thriving in B.C.

“Section 37 in the B.C. Cannabis Control Regulation prohibits the marketing or promotion of any place to consume cannabis. It’s a complete prohibition with severe consequences, including seizure of property,” explained Raby.

“As it relates to tourism, a tourist will arrive in B.C. and be denied any real sense or experience of what the culture is. The provincial government has sterilized it with regulations in order to create a sort of mythology [surrounding the culture]. Tourism is important, but what should be paramount is the cannabis community’s ability to associate freely with each other and to express themselves freely, both of which are fundamental rights here in Canada.”

Raby is one of many who are determined to change the narrative. His advocacy work calls for a reevaluation of the priorities both from the tourism and cannabis sectors, emphasizing the community’s right to free association and expression – principle values in the Canadian ethos.

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