Thursday, 2 April 2026

 Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:57): Well, I have done what every millennial does: I have started a podcast. My Joint is 48 episodes with 22 guests. It aims to shift the dial on stereotypes and stigma one conversation at a time. One of the many things My Joint achieves is to really convey the reality of the cannabis community. All genders, all walks of life, all ages – there is no one kind of cannabis consumer. The interviews are so moving, so funny and, yes, even enlightening. We have psychiatrist Steve Ellen, who is a consumer and also a doctor who has seen firsthand what prohibition has done to his patients. We have veteran and founder of Safer Veterans Australia Derek Pyrah, who has treatment-resistant PTSD and lost everything meaningful in his life when he was prescribed opioids. The only thing that has worked for him is cannabis. I spoke with founder of Mata and ambassador of Harm Reduction Australia Bee Mohamed – a fascinating conversation about her journey from growing up in conservative Singapore to being a leader in the cannabis advocacy space. You will love the interview with single mum and medicinal cannabis patient Alice Davy, who lives with endometriosis, multiple sclerosis and ADHD. Cannabis gives her relief and makes her a better mum. You will also love cannabis advocate, journalist and former chair of the Victorian Multicultural Commission Helen Kapalos. She is also the executive producer, writer and director of the medicinal cannabis documentary A Life of Its Own: The Truth About Medical Marijuana, which came out in 2017. We have comedians, we have politicians, we have drag queens and we have medical experts on this podcast. I encourage you all to come along to My Joint.