Mellow opening to B.C.’s only legal pot shop

When Becky Prete make the trek from Kelowna to Kamloops she was hoping to be one of the first in line when B.C.’s only cannabis retail store opened its doors.

Not only was Prete first in line, she was one of only about five early risers who lined up before 7 a.m.

“I thought I would show up and there would be a couple blocks of people and I would be a few blocks in, but I was really surprised when I walked out of the car and I was the first,” she said.

Prete and the small group lined up in the Sahali Centre parking lot were all surprised they were the only ones in line, given that a slew of reporters from the U.S. to the U.K. thought it was important to be live on location at the only cannabis retail store on the day Canada legalized marijuana.

Hart Steinfeld is one of those who considers legally buying weed from a store for the first time to be a big deal as he travelled all the way from Calgary to do so.

“It’s been 95 years of prohibition so it’s about time we get here for a substance that is far safer than a lot of other legal substances out there right now,” said Steinfeld.

While another man was just excited to use his debit card to purchase cannabis.

The small crowd was shortlived however as by 10 a.m., when the government run BC Cannabis Store opened for business, another 100 future pot purchasers lined up behind Prete and Steinfeld.

The first to exit the store, with cannabis in hand, was Aaron ‘DNA Genetics’ who hails from California and said he waited 16 years for this moment.

According to Aaron, his company DNA Genetics is the geneticist behind the cannabis producer Cannopy Growth, and one of the chosen producers to retail in the Kamloops location.

“You create something and you wait and wait and hope that one day something huge happens and then one day I can buy my own weed legally, grown here in Canada … out of a store,” he explained. “It’s awesome.”

As an American, Aaron says the United States needs to step up when it comes to legalizing marijuana.

“The world wants to see this, cannabis doesn’t hurt anybody, it’s only helping people,” he said. “The price is also fine, it’s legal weed, you now have legal access to cannabis.”

The BC Cannabis Store will have 92 products on display from bongs to rolled joints, to bud that retails anywhere from $6.99 a gram to a seven gram item at $86.99.

The government is working with 40 licensed producers to not only get the product but also the applicable knowledge on cannabis.

Consumers can check out the cannabis on display by both examining it up close through a magnified glass, to testing the texture and smell of the product.

The professional environment of the store is almost identical to that of being in a BC Liquor Store, where two pieces of I.D. are needed and the selection is, for now, the best in town.

@Jen_zee
jen.zielinski@bpdigital.ca
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