The new era of legal retail cannabis stores has arrived in Ontario.

Brampton was one of the first cities in the province to get in on the action — and the action was robust at the grand opening of Ganjika House at 186 Main St. on Monday (April 1).

Owner Clint Seukeran told the Brampton Guardian black market dealers also took notice of the fanfare, with some even encouraging customers to skip the long lineup in favour illicit alternatives.

“We had some jokers coming around, sort of telling people in line, ‘forget legal cannabis, buy illegal cannabis half-price off’. These sorts of things are really not acceptable, and I think there should be more enforcement,” he said.

“I’d really like to see more enforcement of that because we don’t want the customers to feel unsafe, and at the same time don’t want to see them be pestered,” said Seukeran.

There was no shortage of customers for dealers to pester, as patrons formed a long lineup which Seukeran said started as soon as the shop opened Monday morning.

Most waiting in line chose not to comment, preferring anonymity during their first venture into this new retail reality. However, one customer — who would only identify himself as “Joe” — had mixed feelings about his first experience.

While happy about a store coming to his hometown, he was critical of the Ford Government for not allowing more.

“It’s not very efficient,” he said, adding he waited in line for about 30 minutes. “If I go to the liquor store, I walk in. Why should I have to wait a half-an-hour? I think Brampton has a lot more smokers than we thought.”

The retail space at Ganjika House — once a Burger King and last a doctor's office — is nicely decorated and set up with large tables featuring a wide variety of cannabis flower strains to choose from. Samples are encased in secure plastic boxes called “bud pods”, which allow customers to smell and see the product before purchase.