Gatineau's 1st pot shop rolls out the welcome mat

Gatineau's first sanctioned cannabis shop opened its doors Wednesday.

More than two dozen people were waiting in line when the Socit qubcoise du cannabis(SQDC) location openedat 73 boul.de la Gappe.

• Gatineau's 1st pot shop to open next week
• Legal Montreal-area pot store lures Ottawa-Gatineau residents

Unlike some outlets in Ontario, where the job ofselling cannabis hasbeen handed over to private operators,the provincially run SQDC store's shelves appeared to be fully stocked.

Last week, the SQDC announced earlier supply issues had been addressed, andall Quebec cannabis shops would be open seven days a week.

This is the 15thshop to open in Quebec since the federal government legalized cannabis on Oct. 17, 2018.

SQDC planningmore outlets

Until today, residents of Gatineauwho wanted to buy cannabis at an SQDC branch had to travel 150 kilometresto Mirabel, Que.

On the Ottawa side, three outlets for cannabis products opened on April 1.

ricLavoieis the owner of Fire and Flower, a pot shop in the ByWard Market in Ottawa. He told Radio-Canada he'snot worried about competition from Gatineau because so many Gatineau residents work in Ottawa.

TheSQDCsaid it's aimingto open two more branches in Gatineau in the near future.