The pair of potential cannabis store owners in Swift Current feel they've struck the lottery.

With the SLGA receiving 61 applications for the two permits in the city, the percentage of winning them was quite slim.

But Celeste Gerber, one of the people to receive a Swift Current permit, said someone had to win.

"When we heard they were doing the lottery process instead of the free-for-all that Alberta is doing, we were just like 'oh ya, that's definitely the right way to go," the Alberta resident and entrepreneur said. "We really felt that Saskatchewan had sort of all their ducks in a row and that they were doing it properly."

The second person to receive a permit to set up a marijuana shop in Swift Current is Kevin Tindall who said looking at the over 1,500 applications in the province and knowing only 51 permits were available was staring at an unlikely feat.

"When we found out how many applications there were and how many spots there were, I didn't think we would ever come to this point where we would actually get one since it's just a completely random-luck lottery process at the end of the day," he said.

Gerber was introduced to cannabis just over a year and a half ago after being diagnosed with breast cancer and since then she and her husband have been interested in running a store with legalization closing in.

"Just being business people, after I went through what I did, we said well with the legalization I think this is something that a lot of people can benefit from," she explained. "So we were really hoping to be able to help other folks."

Tindall is a chartered accountant out of Saskatoon and said he and his business partners have been working on a business plan for a few years now waiting for this opportunity.

"The reason we're doing this is because this is going to be a multi-billion-dollar industry and we wanted to get in on the ground floor," he said. "We're just so happy to be where we are right now."

The next step for both cannabis shop operators is to begin the permitting process within 45 days and come to Swift Current to look for a location to set up in.

As a condition of their permit, they must be operating within 12 months of legalization.