There’s finally somewhere to legally buy recreational marijuana in Grande Prairie. Two months after legalization, a shop has opened in the Swan City.
Lucky Leaf was the only local store to get a licence from Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis before it temporarily stopped issuing them due to a shortage of product. Owner Sheldon D’Souza says he wanted to make sure he had enough in stock before opening up.
“We didn’t want to sell out on the first day or the second day, so we have been stocking our cupboards to make sure that we don’t sell out when we do open and we’re in a position right now where we aren’t going to sell out in the near future.”
The store at the intersection of 100 Street and 97 Avenue had a soft opening Friday night, with an estimated 300 customers coming through the doors in three hours. While he has a monopoly on legal weed sales right now, D’Souza knows that won’t last forever.
“I think when other stores do open up people are going to have more choices, which is always a great thing in Grande Prairie. I’m hopeful that when stores do open up that people get more educated around cannabis and see how great cannabis can be for Grande Prairie.”
Before the licence freeze, the AGLC was processing 17 cannabis retail licences for Grande Prairie.
Lucky Leaf plans to be open Thursday through Sunday and will assess its opening hours after that. D’Souza credits his staff with getting the store to this point.
