Cannabis is legal Nation wide, and Victorian's are happy to see the beginning of a new era.
Several of the dispensaries in town have closed their doors, as they await the proper license to become a government store.
There is only one licensed store in BC, and it's in Kamloops. But there are options for people who want to by the now-legal product.
The website where you can purchase legal product is up and running. A link to the site is here.
The site launched at 12:01 on October 17, and Kate, a Victoria resident, says she's happy and impressed with the site.
"I think it's a pretty good website. It's very similar to a lot of the websites, in the organization and layout, that the illegal stores had before this date. I also think there's a lot of resources on there that people should use to educate themselves before they consume it. Because, as a lot of people have said, it's not the young people that we need to worried about, it's the older generation, and cannabis is a lot stronger than when hey might have used it in their [youth]. So I really hope everyone is going on there and educating themselves, because it has a lot of fun benefits and it has a lot of medicinal benefits."
Victoria residents are also very happy about the economic benefits that marijuana will bring to the country, and the province. They say the tax revenue will be good, it will create jobs, and Jeff believes it will even help with the tourism industry. "I think it's probably going to open a whole new tourist market. That's why people used to go to Amsterdam, so why not travel to BC and or Canada."
A lot of Victorian's praise marijuana for it's medical benefits as well, like Karen, a long time pot-smoker. "I started smoking because I used to get terrible headaches in high school, and then I realized I had to get glasses, but it eased the headache almost immediately. My Aunt, I don't think she ever relaxed a day in life. She had sciatica pretty bad, and someone convinced her to finally smoke a joint. She said 'I think it was the first time I ever relaxed,' and her sciatica eased, and it was like a miracle cure for her."
Victoria resident's don't think marijuana's legalization will increase the number of people who go to work or drive under the influence, saying people who would do it already do. They also think it will help slowly diminish the black market's influence.