Rockshop applied for a permit from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority last October. “It took them five-and-half months to do their due diligence. Then it took another five months to get the building up to code.” Whiteside also upgraded his security system, installing an $11,000 surveillance and alarm system. He has operated Rockshop for 12 years and selling legal marijuana was always his end game. “That was my whole intention, to become a legal pot seller,” he said. “There was no Plan B, there was always just a Plan A.” Last year the City of North Battleford approved Rockshop’s discretionary land-use application since it met the city’s bylaw requirements. The shop keeps at least a 225-metre buffer from schools and parks.