In the face of the coronavirus pandemic many people in Canada are seeing their communities come together to support those most vulnerable to Covid-19. Schools have been closed indefinitely, parks and rec centres are closed, people are discouraged and in some cased banned from gathering in groups, and bars and restaurants are closing or offering take out only. It’s a terrifying time and you would be forgiven for having no idea how to feel or how to process everything.

Essential services remain open and operational. These services include grocery stores, post offices, and pharmacies. Luckily for cannabis-loving Canadians cannabis stores are considered essential too but it’s really important that we work to protect not just ourselves and our neighbours but also the frontline workers who are risking their own health every day by going to work to serve us. How can we thank them now? By being mindful of their health concerns too.

1) Order ahead and pick up.

Don’t spend time perusing the shelves, browsing the selection or asking about various cannabinoid profiles. You can look that info up online from the comfort of your home (without pants if that’s your jam, and honestly are any of us wearing pants anymore?). Cannabis retail chain Fire & Flower has switched to using the click and collect service Fastlane throughout all of it’s stores and most other retailers have a similar set up going.

“The health and safety of our customers and team members is our top priority. Some of the measures that we have taken include encouraging use of the Fastlane click-and-collect service, safety shields that separate customers and team members, cashless transactions, ensuring social distancing and limiting the number of customers in our shops.” Explains Nadia Vattovaz, Fire & Flower CFO & EVP Operations.

2) Tip generously.

IF you can. Layoffs are real and we’re about to see unemployment hit an all time high but if you are in a position to tip, even for a service you may not normally have tipped for in the past, please consider giving a little more.

3) Pay with A card when possible.

Not everyone can always pay with debit or credit cards but if you have that option right now why not avoid touching cash or making someone else handle cash? If you can pay via TAP, even better, less opportunity for us to transmit the virus to one another.

4) Practice social distancing techniques as recommended by health experts

Stay back at least two metres from other shoppers and staff. Don’t lean on the cases and counters - remember that the virus can live on some surfaces like metal or glass for days so even though retailers will be working extra hard to keep surfaces clean let’s just do them a favour and make their jobs easier by not adding to the contamination. Don’t crowd the shop, avoid the smell pods and wipe your purchases down with disinfectant once you get home.

5) Say Thank You

Look these heros in the eye and thank them. Frontline health care workers are facing the toughest, most horrific days of their careers while retail workers are often poorly paid and underappreciated. This is a good time to show these people some kindness and appreciation.

Now go home, wash your hands and roll a fatty to smoke while checking out this list of 33 Stimulating and Satisfying Activities to do while Social Distancing or this round up of video tutorials to help you become a gifted roller.