Gayle's Tea

Gayle’s Tea

Herbal Tea’s developed by Gayle Quin and produced by Ted Smith

 Their Story:

Gayle Quin and Ted Smith were cannabis warriors.

Ted started his career as an activist 22 years ago on the west coast of Canada. He had a long and successful career advocating for and educating about both medicinal and industrial uses of cannabis. He has been a leader not only in his own community in Victoria, British Columbia but throughout Canada and around the world.

Ted earned his degree in Philosophy from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario before venturing out to the west coast of Canada in the mid-nineties. Ted is an honest, genuine, loving and caring man. He rarely asks for anything from others. He is the person that other people go to in their time of need. He knew that he was destined to help people in some capacity but he never imagined in his wildest dreams what the next quarter century would bring. It was almost as if the cannabis movement chose him and not the other way around. Ted founded the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club; The Hempology 101 Society; as well as writing and publishing the Cannabis Digest – Canada’s longest running and largest medicinal cannabis publication. These ventures have had unparalleled success in Canada. Ted has been an integral part of changing the laws in Canada for patients who use medicinal cannabis for treatment of various chronic conditions. He has worked for years with Victoria City Council to allow citizens safe access to medicinal cannabis. Recently he played a key role in initiating regulations for dispensaries to operate in Victoria as well as gaining approval (in word) for Canada’s first safe consumption site for medicinal cannabis. It is safe to say that Ted has done his part to advance the cannabis movement on countless fronts.

Gayle Quin was Ted’s partner in love and in crime (pardon the pun) and a hero in her own right. Gayle was a huge part of the cannabis movement – she worked tirelessly to advocate for patients right and appeared as a patient witness in 3 court cases of the VCBC, including the Supreme Court of Canada trial of Owen Smith which saw a unanimous decision making extracts of cannabis legal. Gayle became the face of patient rights in Canada.

Gayle grew up on Vancouver Island and she faced many health challenges throughout her life. Her struggles included severe food allergies, arthritis, fibromyalgia, mercury poisoning, hep C, herpes, broken bones, chronic fatigue syndrome and most recently cancer. At the age of 17 Gayle began a life long journey of learning and practicing the use of herbs as medicine to treat herself as well as others who came to her for advice and guidance about their own health problems.

In 2003 Gayle became a member at the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club and soon became a familiar face in the cannabis community in Victoria. It was not long before Gayle began working with the VCBC. Around this time Gayle bought property in Cobble Hill, British Columbia where she wildcrafted many plants and herbs. During Gayle’s time at the VCBC she developed many herbal teas, food and skin products using her knowledge of herbs and essential oils. These products have changed the lives of many people. Gayle catalogued many of her recipes for teas and other natural products for others to use and made these recipes available through the Cannabis Digest. Gayle was featured in many publications over the years for her work with cannabis and in cannabis related fields.

It was not long after Gayle and Ted met that they started a beautiful romance. It was the kind of relationship that you’d expect to read in a storybook. These two were kindred spirits. Where one was strong the other could be vulnerable. Those who had the privilege to know them personally or in acquaintance could not deny the love that radiated from them. It was the type of love that all of us hope to find in our lifetime. Yet they were selfless in their love. They understood that their love could be shared with more people than just themselves – they did not hide their love away but shared it with anyone they came in contact with.

 No fairy-tale is complete without an antagonist. Theirs was perhaps the most ironic end to a fairy-tale that I have ever encountered; for in 2011 Gayle required a mastectomy and a portion of her armpit removed with cancer. Even in the face of this brutal illness Ted and Gayle remained steadfast in their love, and in their love of and commitment to helping others. Ted continued his work with Hempology 101, The Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, as well as The Cannabis Digest. Gayle continued to help as she could and it was during this time that she became a key witness in the Supreme Court case of Reg v. Smith. This was perhaps her crowning achievement but not her most important for she didn’t look at life that way. I believe her greatest achievement, as is Ted’s, is being true to themselves always and without compromise.

As the year’s passed Gayle’s cancer metastasized through much of her body. Though she fought for as long as she was capable of fighting the last years of her life were mostly spent in bed, in her home in Cobble Hill under the care of her greatest love and biggest supporter Ted. Ted could hardly bare to be away from Gayle as the condition of her health was so uncertain for so long.  He could not be away for much more than a few hours at a time for fear of losing his love while he was away. Gayle and Ted were able to live, eat, and medicate due in part to the generous support of friends, family and strangers alike. The amount of support was truly inspiring.

Gayle lost her fight with cancer on September 22, 2016 and Ted lost the love of his life.

Ted courageously attempted to move forward along the same path as he had for so many years. He was putting one foot in front of the other and running somewhat on autopilot. Those footsteps began to be harder and harder to take and eventually it was as if his feet were locked in concrete and could not moved any further. He realized, with much sorrow that his life as a cannabis activist and in the cannabis movement was over. This was absolutely devastating to him as he felt like he failed his love.

But Ted has never been one to walk away quietly or without a fight. Through days and nights of soul searching Ted has realized that there is a new and exciting way that he can both honour his love and continue working to help people and improve their quality of life.

Enter “Gayle’s Tea” – Gayle has left a wealth of information, knowledge, herbs, and property for others to benefit from. Somehow she has left the rest of us with the ability to celebrate her life by living our own to the fullest. Ted has decided to make this his life’s work. He has started to package and sell Gayle’s Tea, compile recipes online, start a library out of his home and will be wildcrafting herbs on the property in Cobble Hill this summer.

As we all know, a new business requires capital. While Ted is able to get the company off the ground it will take much time, effort, and resources to bring his loves vision to the world. He hopes to start a mail order business as well as selling Gayle’s Tea through the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club and other similar businesses. This will allow Ted to live a modest life, cultivate and craft teas, and eventually he hopes to buy the property in Cobble Hill that has been left in Gayle’s estate.

Please consider making a donation to this wonderful new venture. Gayle and Ted have both given so much to so many and now it is time to give something back to them. Any donation will help to further this cause. Even as little as $5 can make a huge difference.

Thank you all for reading and considering making a donation. We will continue to update the progress of this project as it develops. There are many other ways that people will be able to help in the future but for now what is most needed is financial assistance.

Gayle’s spirit will forever live in all those that she touched and Ted will continue her work until he is no longer able to continue.