We’re at crossroads when it comes to cannabis reform.

On the one hand, liberalisation is sweeping the globe. You can literally walk into a shop in many parts of the world, talk to a budtender and get served a cannabis bevvie. On the other hand, there’s a shiton of backlash. In Australia we see little movement on decriminalisation and legalisation, lots of noise about rogue medicinal cannabis doctors, and that recent Lancet piece has really stoked fear and misinformation.

We are two steps forward, one back.

That is the nature of reform.

Change doesn’t happen easily and now is not the time to give up.

As one part of Rachel Payne MP’s own advocacy in this space—other than being an MP for Legalise Cannabis Victoria!—she has just launched a new podcast called My Joint. The idea is to invite people to ‘My Joint’ and talk to them to break down stigma, one conversation at a time. As her first guest Justin Hamilton said in his episode, weed is ‘weird’ until you know someone who benefits from it. People outside our movement still have outdated ideas about cannabis (and about cannabis consumers) and in this podcast she talks to actual consumers to break that stuff down.

The depth and breadth of our community is incredible.

The first five episodes of the My Joint are out (yes, you can get them wherever you get your podcasts!) and they feature consumers as varied as comedian Justin Hamilton, journalist Helen Kapalos, Creative powerhouse Renee Thompson, single mum Alice Davey and Sri Lankan-Australian comedian Dilruk Jayasinha. All of these episodes are out now. Even amongst these guests there’s such variation in background, age and early experiences. What is common to all the guests is that they are bright, functional, and fascinating members of the community.

I thought I’d give you a brief sneak-peak into the first handful of episodes.

Let’s take self-proclaimed ‘square’ Helen Kapalos who became passionate about cannabis when she had trouble getting an investigative journalist story up on the commercial TV news. Helen had never been a consumer but became so incensed about the prejudice against medicinal cannabis (she had been speaking to a patient who found it life changing) that she gave up her job and funded a documentary on the subject.

Justin Hamilton and Dilruk Jayasinha are both comedians, but their experiences with weed couldn’t be more different. Justin grew up in South Australia where cannabis was not really criminalised. He talks about dropping a bud in Rundle Mall and just leaving it there for someone who might need it! Compare this to Dilruk, who grew up in Sri Lanka, where cannabis is strictly illegal and if caught, will likely land you in prison. Dil is now a medicinal cannabis patient in Victoria and finds weed a much better alternative to the comedians’ ‘medicine of choice’ (aka booze) to relax, unwind, manage anxiety and sleep.

Renee Thompson is a marriage celebrant, creative writer and community builder. She’s a queer, Irish woman who also happens to be Rachel’s partner! Renee has been consuming cannabis since she was a teenager and finds this gorgeous plant beneficial for her creativity, pain management and socialising. In her episode, Renee talks about the benefits of weed for women’s sexuality. She overshares wayyyyy too much about their lives, and we think you’ll all enjoy that! Renee started consuming cannabis in conservative Northern Island and was forced to buy hash to eat or smoke. She is now passionate about being able to access gentler and more controlled cannabis—whether that means growing a couple of organic plants at home or, via a doctor.

And then there’s the incredible cannabis advocate Alice Davey. Alice is a single mum living with Multiple Sclerosis and other health conditions. After essentially being stoned out of her mind on a range of debilitating pharmaceuticals to manage her symptoms, Alice discovered medicinal cannabis and now finds herself off all other medications. She says she’s happier, healthier and a better mum. Alice is particularly passionate about our ridiculous driving laws that test presence and not impairment.

Five different guests, with their own unique stories to tell.

Coming up on the podcast, we have a mix of everything from a psychiatrist to drag queens to sports stars to activists and even a tap dancer. Some have been consuming weed from a young age; others were prohibitionists who came around when they needed it for treatment-resistant health conditions. Overall, they paint a picture of something we all know to be true: cannabis is not for everyone, but it has incredible benefits to many of us.

The podcast is just one arm of Rachel’s own cannabis advocacy.

Rachel would love it if you could assist with the cause and listen, rate, review and share the podcast. This helps spread the word and pumps up the algorithm. The more we can counter the prohibitionist propaganda about weed consumers—which is really ramping up at the moment—the better.

Oh, and one last thing, lots of the episodes are really funny!

Whether it’s the guests’ munchies of choice or, sage advice like, “Do not see a new movie when stoned—if it’s shit, it will go forever”, you’ll have a laugh. Leaning into the joys of weed is all part of our push to end the outdated and immature prohibition of a plant that has been enjoyed for tens of thousands of years.

We do hope you enjoy your time at My Joint.