Grown for the holidays: Sask. pot shops pitch cannabis gifts for Christmas

Regina's newest cannabis store is encouraging people to "leave out some extra snacks" for Santa this year. 

It's one of several promotional holiday messages seen in Tweed, Regina's newest recreational cannabis shop. 

The store opened Friday and is the third in the city since legalization.

The shop is owned by Jill Anderson and her son Evan Anderson in partnership with Tweed, a large cannabis corporation. Tweed operates multiple shops across Canada and is a subsidiary of international company Canopy Growth Corporation. 

"Cannabis is always a great gift," said Evan as he took a break from helping a customer. The 21-year-old took a semester off from school in Toronto to prepare for the opening.

Cannabis a hit in Secret Santa games

Cannabis and the Christmas spirit go hand in hand, said Geoff Conn, owner of The Pot Shack in Saskatoon.

Conn said gifting cannabis or accessories is no different than gifting a loved one with a bottle of alcohol. He said customers have reported it as a hit gift for colleagues.

"A lot of the Secret Santa stuff comes from our store and we're hearing lots of stories about the fights that go on at office Christmas parties — people trying to get the good stuff."

Conn has high hopes for the new year as the cannabis industry in the province continues to grow.

Right now the store has imposed its own limits on how much product one person can buy, but they're looking to expand that in the new year as supply becomes more reliable.

Cannabis Christmas baking 

Another Saskatchewan shop opened to the public on Tuesday in Estevan. It's one of four stores operated by Jimmy's Cannabis Shop, owned by David Thomas and his brother John. 

Thomas said they didn't want to open the Estevan shop until they could secure enough product. The company had to temporarily close its store in Martensville and its online shop because of a supply shortage. 

"We've learned quite a few lessons in 2018 ​and we're really grateful for where we are now," Thomas said, adding cannabis culture has quickly become a routine part of life. 

"The second we opened our doors it's almost like the stigma just disappeared, like it's completely normal to us and I think it just gets integrated into the daily life, including Christmas."

Thomas said they were so busy preparing for the Estevan opening that the holiday season seemed to sneak up on them. 

They still plan to launch an online baking resource.

"It's just a little how to video right around the holidays for people to check out how to bake cannabis," he said.

"We think that making edibles is a really good way to introduce cannabis into the holiday season."