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Craft cannabis is small-batch cannabis grown with traditional hands-on methods like hang drying, hand trimming, slow or cold curing, and careful packaging. It puts aroma, flavour, structure, and handling first. It cares more about how the plant is treated than how big the THC number looks on the label.
This guide walks through what that actually means in Canada, how it shows up in the legal market, and where Victoria Cannabis Company fits inside that world.
At its simplest, craft cannabis is dried flower produced in small batches by people who know their plants and touch them often.
A craft grow usually has:
Craft production is about the production method, not just the final COA. The goal is consistent structure, clear aroma, and a terpene profile that feels true to the cultivar genetics and lineage.
There is no federal checklist that turns a product into “craft.” The Cannabis Act does not define the term. The idea lives in how people grow, how they handle the plant, and how the community talks about the work.
In the community, “craft” is a cultural word, not a legal one.
Growers use it to describe small-batch, hands-on work. Budtenders use it for jars where the flower still looks and smells alive. Consumers use it for cannabis that feels like it has a story behind it rather than just a SKU number.
In British Columbia and across Canada, the word carries weight. On Vancouver Island, in Victoria, in the Kootenays, and even in Ontario’s “quad aka AAAA” conversations, people use “craft cannabis” to point at:
There is no central committee that decides who “counts.” Instead, community craft definitions evolve over time. They are based on shared standards, shared stories, and a sense that some producers are doing more than the minimum.
You can hear a lot of talk about craft. The methods are what ground it.
Most traditional craft processes include:
Hang drying
Plants are cut and hung in climate-controlled rooms. This lets moisture leave slowly. It helps preserve terpene expression and protects trichome structure. The goal is balanced dried flower, not speed.
Hand trimming
Trimmers shape each bud with scissors and gloved hands. Hand trimming protects delicate trichomes. It keeps the natural shape of the flower instead of flattening it. It also gives one more layer of human Quality Assurance before the batch moves on.
Hand packaging
In many small-batch facilities, final packaging is done by hand or in small runs. People check for consistency in size, structure, and aroma as jars or bags are filled. It is another place where hands-on handling matters.
Slow curing
After drying, the flower rests in bins, barrels, or other vessels. Humidity is balanced. Jar or bin burps are scheduled. This slow curing helps the terpene profile settle and supports more consistent flavour from jar to jar.
Daily plant checks
In a real craft room, growers walk the space every day. They look at how leaves sit. They read the canopy. They check for stress, stretch, and resin development. Sensors and dashboards may still be present, but eyes, nose, and memory lead the work.
These traditional craft processes are not marketing buzzwords. They are simple, repeatable methods that keep the plant at the centre of the production method.
In Canada, all legal cannabis sits under the Cannabis Act and is overseen by Health Canada. The law sets rules for:
Health Canada issues micro-cultivation and micro-processing licences for smaller canopy and smaller processing volumes. It also issues standard licences for larger facilities. Micro licences limit how much area can be under active growth. They are a common path for small-batch growers who want to keep operations focused.
Here is the key point. The Cannabis Act:
Craft methods like hang drying, hand trimming, hand packaging, and slow curing exist outside the formal legal definitions. They sit on top of the same licence system that also covers large operators.
If you want a deeper legal dive, you can look at our craft cannabis legal guide for Canada from the main craft section on the Victoria Cannabis Company site.
British Columbia has a long history with small-batch cannabis. Terrain, culture, and economics all played their part.
On Vancouver Island and in coastal communities, people learned to grow in basements, barns, and small indoor rooms. They shared cultivar genetics. They experimented with soil mixes and nutrient schedules. They passed down drying and curing lessons the way other regions pass down baking recipes.
Over time, those habits formed a regional craft culture:
That story did not end with legalization. Many of the people who now hold micro-cultivation or standard licences in BC came straight out of that small-batch tradition. The methods moved into licensed facilities. The values stayed much the same.
When we talk about traditional craft cannabis at VCC, we are talking about this BC cannabis history as much as we are talking about specific methods in a grow room.
There is no official “craft” seal on Canadian packaging. You can still look for clear signs.
You might be looking at real craft production when:
On the product side, look at the dried flower itself:
Documentation helps too. Some producers and retailers share more detail on testing standards, drying methods, and trim style. Over time, you start to see patterns in who does the extra work and who does not.
No single signal is perfect. Taken together, they can help you tell the difference between craft production and craft-flavoured marketing.
Victoria Cannabis Company sees itself as part of a wider craft ecosystem rather than the only voice in it.
Our focus is on traditional craft cannabis that honours the methods and culture that made BC known in the first place. That means:
We spend a lot of time in facilities, ours and our partners. We talk with the people who run them. We look at how they treat their teams, how they manage their drying rooms, and how they keep flower stable through curing and storage. We’re guided by values and by a commitment to the plant.
If you want to see how this plays out across the full production cycle, you can read our step-by-step story on how craft cannabis is grown. To understand how we make decisions across the brand as a whole, you can explore our craft approach from the main Victoria Cannabis Company site.
If you’re local or visiting Vancouver Island, check out where to buy in Victoria page and Victoria cannabis store, aka VCC Farmgate.
Craft cannabis is small-batch cannabis grown and handled with traditional, hands-on methods. It usually involves hang drying, slow curing, hand trimming, and careful packaging, with a focus on aroma, flavour, and structure rather than mass production.
No. The Cannabis Act does not define “craft cannabis” as a legal category. It regulates licences, testing, packaging, and promotion. Craft is a community term that describes how some producers choose to grow and handle their batches.
Legally, no. Micro and standard licence holders all follow the same federal and provincial rules on testing, record keeping, packaging, and facility compliance. Craft growers set a higher internal bar on methods like hang drying, slow curing, and hand trimming, but those choices are not written into the law.
Common craft processes include small-batch cultivation, daily plant checks, hang drying, long curing, hand trimming, and often hand packaging. Many traditional producers also place strong emphasis on cultivar genetics, terpene profile, and careful batch handling.
Look for detailed producer stories, mentions of small-batch growing, and clear explanations of drying, curing, and trimming. On the product side, check that the flower still looks like proper buds with intact trichomes and a readable aroma. Retailers that care about craft often highlight these details in their menus and staff training.
All provinces follow the same federal framework, but provincial distributors and retailers talk about craft in slightly different ways. British Columbia leans heavily into its small-batch culture. Ontario has strong conversations around “quads” and top-shelf dried flower. In every province, though, “craft” remains a community word layered on top of the same national rules.
Look for small-batch language, clear method details, and transparency about inputs. For flower, watch for hang drying, slow curing, and hand trimming. For pre-rolls, look for whole-flower input. For concentrates, look for clear solventless or traditional process descriptions.
Reviewed by: Kyp Rowe, VP Brand, Victoria Cannabis Company.
This article is designed to sit inside VCC’s Craft Cannabis: The Ultimate Guide. For deeper dives, you can continue into our pieces on how craft cannabis is grown, the types of craft cannabis products on the market, why terpenes matter in craft cannabis, and the legal rules that shape small-batch production in Canada.
