decades ago a local journalist dubbed Vancouver as Lotusland (one of many nicknames then in circulation)...the reference is to The Odyssey, wherin Odysseus' men were lulled by the narcotic effects of lotus leaves...the city is renowned as a drug capital in Canada, particularly soft drugs like Marijuana and Hashish, although a lot of harder drugs are also readily available on sordid streets...nowadays there is a shop down the hill with this name, which sells second hand electronics, turntables, stereos etc...there is also a growing chain of marijuana shops popping up like weeds (!)