Pubdate: Thu, 20 Nov 2014
Source: Vancouver 24hours (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Vancouver 24 hrs.
Contact: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/letters
Website: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3837
Author: Jane Deacon
Page: 5

VANCOUVER'S POT MUSEUM SET TO CLOSE ITS DOORS

Collection moving to Detroit, while organizer plans 'world-class 
dispensary' for Vancouver

For the last decade, $2.50 would get you a 30-minute tour through the 
ins and outs of herbal medicine - from the story behind Absinthe to a 
brief history of magic mushrooms in Canada to ancient cannabis use.

But after 10 years in Vancouver, the Herb Museum - billed as a global 
one-of-a-kind site for scope and accessibility - is closing its doors 
to make way for a seed sanctuary in the BC Marijuana Party Building.

Most of the 1,200 artifacts are on the way to the U.S. following 
their sale to organizers of a new, larger cannabis-related museum in Detroit.

It's not sad news for David Malmo-Levine, a marijuana activist who 
has been part of the project since it launched. He's planning to use 
the funds earned through the sale to create a marijuana dispensary 
focusing on pot as preventative medicine.

"I didn't really have a place to put it, so we sent some feelers out 
there and it turns out they're opening a cannabis museum in Detroit," 
he said. "I convinced them to expand the scope of what they are doing 
and they agreed."

The museum, which began as a small offshoot of a drug history walking 
tour of Vancouver, has slowly expanded over the years and 
incorporated the collections of several similar projects, including 
artifacts owned by Marc Emery, Canada's "prince of pot."

Prior to its closure, Malmo-Levine estimates the museum was welcoming 
a dozen visitors per day.

Malmo-Levine is currently hunting for space in Kitsilano or 
Kerrisdale to launch his new project, which he hopes will redefine 
the use of medical marijuana.

For those who want to take home a souvenir, Malmo-Levine is hosting 
an auction of some of the museum's art Thursday evening from 8 to 10 
p.m. in the BC Marijuana Party Building.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom