Nine-year-old sells out of Girl Guide cookies in front of cannabis store on first day

A nine-year-old Alberta girl managed to rapidly sell out of Girl Guide cookies by targeting cannabis consumers on the first day of legal sales.

Elina Childs tells CTV News Channel that it was her father’s idea to load up her wagon and line up outside of an Edmonton pot shop on Wednesday.

Elina, part of the Girl Guides Canada Brownies program, unloaded all 30 boxes of cookies at $5 each in about 45 minutes, according to her father, Seann Childs.

Childs says he came up with the idea a day or so before legalization.

“We were going to sell them in the neighbourhood and it’s always been a little slow,” he said. “Elina was actually bit by a dog once.”

“She did a fantastic job and was very polite and everyone was very polite with her,” he added.

Childs added that he used the experience to teach his daughter about legalization.

“We talked about ... what it was and what it means for people who want to use it and people who don’t want to use it,” he explained.

Childs said Elina has cystic fibrosis and the Brownies program has been important to keep her active.

He also said that smoking is normally harmful for her, so this was “the one day she could benefit from smoking.”

"We like to have frank discussions with her, so she understands what it is and take away that mystery behind it,” he said in a separate interview with The Canadian Press. “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."

Elina didn’t elaborate much on her experience in her national TV interview beyond saying it was “fun.” She did, however, share a great joke.

“Why did the cookie go to the doctor?” she said. “Cause it was feeling crummy.”