April 1, 2019
brick and mortar stores finally opened
three in Ottawa
Fire & Flower
on York Street
Hobo
downtown on Bank
Superette on Wellington West
none yet though in the south end
Kanata or Orleans

For the first day
the line ups are long
out the door and around the corner
many waiting to see
how supply responds to demand
before entering the cue

Much the same as in other centers
Toronto, Kingston, Burlington, London…
but no word yet on anything up north
fewer than half of Ontario’s licensed outlets
ready to open on day 1
the government had planned to have
25 stores launch
though some still working through a
lengthy approval process

Shamoon, 20, already buys her cannabis
legally online
says shopping in a physical store
much more convenient

Unless appearing underage
do we have to present ID
to purchase anything else
at a brink & mortar?
no…of course not
so why should pot be any different?

You walk in
see and smell the product
purchase right away
though some like A. Jackes, 67
a medicinal user
complain the prices are too high

“The government’s not going to have any chance
of dealing with the black market
(one of the original intentions of legalization)
if they don’t lower the cost”

This discerning shopper would agree




© 2019
Photos courtesy of the Ottawa Citizen

830 hits as of February 2024

04/06/2019

Posted on 04/06/2019
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti