A Canadian Girl Guide capitalized on the legalization of cannabis in her country by selling cookies to consumers waiting in line for legal pot. Elina Childs, a 9-year-old girl from Edmonton, Alberta, sold a wagonload of Girl Guide cookies outside a cannabis dispensary in just 45 minutes.
Elina’s father, Seann Childs, said the family had been trying to come up with a new way to sell the confections.
“We’ve sold cookies in the neighborhood before with her and it’s door to door. People aren’t home. There’s dogs and everything else,” said Childs. “We thought, ‘Where can we go to sell them?’ It just so happens that legalization was coming up in a couple of days.”
So on Wednesday, the day recreational cannabis sales became legal in Canada, Elina filled her wagon with three cases of cookies and headed to one of Alberta’s six cannabis dispensaries.
“It was well received,” said Childs. “People thought it was awesome. There were people telling her she was doing a great thing, that it was very innovative. There were cars stopping on the street to buy cookies from her. It was really something else. I’d never seen anything quite like that.”
After only 45 minutes of selling to those queueing up outside the dispensary, the cookies were gone.
“We were sold out in no time,” Childs said.
Childs said that Girl Guides activities are a way to help keep Elina healthy.
“She actually has cystic fibrosis, so we encourage her to get out there and do things and be active,” Childs said. “Girl Guides is one part of that.”
A Teachable Moment About Cannabis
Elina’s father said he used the sales outing as a chance to teach her that there are medicinal uses of cannabis she might want to explore when she is older, noting that smoking is usually not good for her.
“This was one day she could benefit from smoking,” said Childs. “We saw that as an opportunity to get out there and teach her a little about what cannabis is.”
Childs added that he didn’t think that Elina is ready for cannabis yet.
“Obviously she’s not going to be using it before she’s 18, I hope, but we like to have frank discussions with her, so she understands what it is and take away that mystery behind it—just to show her people of all ages and all walks of life are doing this and it’s legal in Canada now, just demystify it for her so it’s not a big deal for her,” he said.
Girl Guides Leadership Praises Sales Savvy
Heather Monahan, the commissioner of the Edmonton Girl Guides, applauded Elina’s ingenuity and efforts to sell the cookies.
“Good on her and her family for thinking of it,” said Monahan. “It’s fun and it’s different and what better way to get rid of cookies.”
But after Elina’s success was shared on social media, Monahan began receiving inquiries wondering if the girl’s sales tactics were permitted.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” she said. “It wasn’t like she was in the store—that would be a whole different ball game.”
“I think it’s wonderful,” Monahan added.
