British Columbia’s reputation as a global leader in artisan craft cultivation didn’t begin with legalisation. Among those key forces were the people who migrated to BC during the Vietnam War era, “draft dodgers”,bringing with them seeds, values, and cultivation know-how that helped forge the legacy of what we now proudly call BC craft cultivation.
The 1960s and 1970s were pivotal, The Vietnam War in particular catalysed migration to BC.Several thousand Americans who opposed conscription moved north to Canada to avoid being drafted. Many of them carried seeds or knowledge of cultivation. BC’s geography and climate, fertile valleys, long growing seasons, wilderness, secluded spaces, gave these newcomers a chance to put down roots, literally and figuratively.
By the 1990s-2000s, a grey market had firmly taken hold. Dispensaries (often illegal or unlicensed) flourished in cities. Advocacy increased, figures like Marc Emery and Dana Larsen brought seeds, genetics, activism and policy challenges into public view.
When Canada legalised recreational use in October 2018, it was both a milestone and a crossroads for BC craft legacy. Legalisation opened up opportunities: regulated markets, legal business operations, broader acceptance, export potential. But it also introduced regulatory burdens, taxation, licensing hurdles that disproportionately affected small-scale and legacy growers.
The strains developed over decades in BC continue to be sought after. The hallmarks of BC craft flavour, aroma, potency are in many modern cultivars. Embodied knowledge passed down from craft growers remains a backbone of the legal market.
As BC’s market matures, the challenge will be ensuring policy, culture, and industry respect the past even while moving forward. Ensuring small scale, artisanal growers are heard, that genetics are preserved, that cultivation practices rooted in ecology and craft continue, that’s how the legacy lives on.
