Thousands of people had placed nearly 40,000 orders through the Ontario government’s online cannabis portal by midday Wednesday, the first day of legalization in Canada.

Just don’t count Alex Gore among them.

“Everyone out here with a joint, they didn’t purchase it from the government store,” said Gore, a Toronto artist and regular cannabis user who makes glass pipes.

He was among dozens of people who showed up early Wednesday at the Friendly Stranger’s Wake and Bake event, organized to celebrate the “end of prohibition.”

Around a campfire in the backyard of the Hot Black Coffee shop near Queen and Duncan streets, which hosted the event, smiling smokers rolled joints and puffed the morning away, revelling in the country’s historic moment.

Coffee and breakfast burritos were provided free, but it was a BYOC (bring your own cannabis) gathering — and that suited Gore just fine.

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He said he has smoked a joint every morning for years, and while that routine will likely carry on, he’s not buying into Ontario’s new purchase regulations.

“I’ve got my own dealers. Unless the government makes it cheaper and much better than what I can get somewhere else,” he said.

Throughout the morning hours, customers dropped in to join the celebration, listening to music and checking out cannabis products by various artists — pipes, pot-themed jewelry, pot grinders.

Cannabis educator Jonathan Hirsh said he has been a medical and recreational user for the past 14 years. He was happy to finally see cannabis legalized, and hopes people will continue to find a safe way to use it.

“We suffered too long to get here, but the journey is the destination,” he said as he puffed away in the morning breeze.

Hot Black Coffee co-owner Jimson Bienenstock said it was decided to hold the celebrations during the day because many cannabis users view it as a lifestyle rather than a drug to get intoxicated.

“At midnight is when you get all the drunk people. We don’t want that. We’re about drinking coffee and having some fun,” he said.

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He said not all of his customers are thrilled about legalization.

Earlier in the morning, one regular client came in for coffee, heard the music in the back, and immediately walked out when she heard people were celebrating the first day of legalized cannabis in this country.

“She didn’t even buy coffee,” he said. “It shows you there’s always two sides to every story.”