If you’ve ever walked into a cannabis store in Vancouver and felt like every menu looked identical, you’re not imagining it. Most dispensaries in BC order their products exclusively through the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) — the provincial wholesaler that sits between licensed producers and retailers. It’s the standard model, and it works fine. But it also means every store is pulling from the same pool.
Canntina does it differently. And if you care about what you’re actually smoking, that difference matters.
What Is Direct Delivery in BC Cannabis?
Under BC’s cannabis regulations, licensed retailers are permitted to source products directly from licensed producers through a model called direct delivery. Rather than routing every order through the BCLDB, a retailer can establish direct relationships with licensed BC craft producers and receive shipments straight from the farm.
This isn’t a loophole — it’s a deliberate part of the regulatory framework, designed to support small-batch BC growers who might otherwise get lost in the volume-driven BCLDB system. Not many Vancouver dispensaries use it. The paperwork is more complex, the relationships take time to build, and it requires a genuine commitment to seeking out producers who grow at a smaller scale.
We think it’s worth it.
Why It Matters for What’s on Our Shelves
When you source through direct delivery, a few things change:
You get products that aren’t available anywhere else. Many of the craft producers we work with don’t have wide BCLDB distribution — or any at all. The only way to get their products on a retail shelf in Vancouver is through a direct relationship. That means when you shop at Canntina, you’re accessing a selection that genuinely can’t be replicated at the BC Cannabis Store or most other dispensaries in the city.
You know where your cannabis comes from. Our team has built direct relationships with over 30 BC craft producers. We know their grow practices, their ethos, and their products before they ever hit our shelves. That context shapes every conversation our budtenders have with customers.
You get fresher product. Eliminating a step in the supply chain means less time in transit and storage. Cannabis that moves directly from producer to retailer is, in most cases, fresher than product cycling through a central distribution facility.
Small-batch producers get supported. The craft cannabis producers we work with are often small teams — sometimes a single family operation growing a few hundred pounds per year. Direct delivery lets those producers sustain their business and keep doing what they do best: growing exceptional cannabis.
What “Craft Cannabis” Actually Means
The term gets thrown around a lot, so it’s worth being specific about how we use it.
To us, craft cannabis means small-batch, hands-on cultivation where the grower is deeply involved at every stage — from genetics selection and growing environment to harvest timing and cure. It tends to mean more attention paid to terpene preservation, more phenotype hunting, and more consistency within a batch because the scale is manageable.
It doesn’t automatically mean organic, outdoor, or any particular price point. Some of the most compelling craft cannabis we carry is grown in carefully controlled indoor environments. What unites it is intentionality — growers who are paying close attention and making decisions based on quality rather than volume.
What This Looks Like In Practice
Walk into either of our Vancouver locations and you’ll see it on the menu. Strains and brands that rotate as producers release new batches. Products that sell out and don’t immediately restock because the next run isn’t ready yet. Budtenders who can tell you the story behind a particular batch because they’ve had direct contact with the people who grew it.
It also means our menu is genuinely different from what you’d find at most other dispensaries in Vancouver — not just in terms of branding, but in terms of what’s actually available.
Come See the Difference
If you’ve been shopping at the same few dispensaries and wondering whether there’s something better out there, we’d invite you to come in and take a look at what we’re carrying.
Both our Main Street (910 Main St, Mount Pleasant) and Renfrew Street (2637 Renfrew St, East Vancouver) locations carry our full direct-delivery selection, updated regularly as new batches come in from our producer partners across BC. You can also browse our current menu online before you visit, or order for same-day delivery anywhere in Vancouver.
Our team is here every day from 9AM to 11PM. Come talk cannabis with us — we genuinely love this stuff.
View our Main Street menu →
View our Renfrew Street menu →
Learn more about same-day delivery →