Article content

The Edmonton area will be the best place in Alberta to shop around for weed on the first day that cannabis is legalized on Oct. 17.

Seventeen retailers in Alberta have been issued interim cannabis licences, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) said Thursday. A dozen of those are in the Edmonton area, including six in the city, two in Fort Saskatchewan and single stores in St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Devon and Stony Plain.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Edmonton area dominates licensed cannabis shops ahead of legalization Back to video

Calgary, by contrast, has two approved locations and Medicine Hat has three.

The co-owner of Alberta’s first fully approved marijuana shop, Chris Felgate in Devon has named his store Small Town Buds Cannabis Culture and has still not fully absorbed the fact that he will open Oct. 17.

“It’s exciting but, in some ways, it doesn’t feel real, like when you book a vacation and it’s not real until you’re on it,” said Felgate, who will operate a 1,500-square-foot shop the town of about 7,000 located 40 km southwest of Edmonton.