Give and Toke

Great cannabis doesn't happen by accident.In the first episode of the Give & Toke Cultivation Series, Paul is joined by Sacha La Forgia and Ewan from Golden Days Cultivators.Bringing their own professional knowledge and experience into cannabis cultivation, Sacha and Ewan recognised early on the importance of learning from people who've spent decades working with the plant.We discuss the realities of commercial cultivation, what makes quality cannabis, lessons learned along the way, and how established cultivation knowledge can help shape Australia's legal industry.The Cultivation Series is proudly supported by Athena Nutrients and Arcadia Horticulture Group.Explore the series and our guests:Give & Toke: giveandtoke.com.auEnter the Cultivation Series Giveaway: cultivationseries.com.auArcadia Horticulture Group: arcadiahg.com.auGolden Days Cultivators: goldendayscultivators.com.auCannabis Industry Classified: cannabisindustryclassified.com.auCultivation Series Giveaway: Australian residents can enter by submitting a cultivation question. Entries close 16 December 2026. Full prize details and terms and conditions are available through the competition website.

For the final episode of the season, Paul is joined by Adam Guskich and Todd McClellan, co-founders of MediGrowth, for a conversation about ambition, partnership and the realities of building a business in Australia's evolving medicinal cannabis industry.From their backgrounds and the early days of MediGrowth in 2017 to the challenges of navigating a heavily regulated industry, Adam and Todd reflect on the decisions, setbacks and experiences that have shaped their journey.We explore the importance of research, the changing Australian landscape, what they've learned from working together for nearly a decade and where they see the industry heading next.Along the way, there's plenty of room for a laugh as we get to know the people behind the business.Disclosure: Azure Health, which is connected to MediGrowth, is a supporter of Give & Toke. This episode is an independent editorial conversation and is not intended to promote any medicinal products or healthcare services.Visit www.giveandtoke.com.auFollow @giveandtoke on InstagramEmail [email protected]

My wife and Give & Toke’s Creative Advisor, Ruth Cathcart, returns for Weed, Love and Understanding: Part 2.In our first conversation, Ruth shared what it meant to support my cannabis use and pursuits without being a consumer herself. Since then, she’s become a medicinal cannabis patient, following her own path and making that decision in her own time.We talk about her experience accessing care, including frustrations with clinics, and what she understands differently through her own treatment. We also get into her work behind Give & Toke, sharing a marriage and a business, and her experiences at Rachel Payne’s Toke the Vote fundraiser and the Cannabiz Awards.Plus, some surprise listener questions about kebabs, dancing and how she puts up with me.In this episode:Ruth’s independent pathway into medicinal cannabisAccessing care and navigating patient experiencesMarriage and working together behind Give & TokeFinding connection in the cannabis communitySurprise listener questions and the return of Ruth’s TruthsFind more conversations, articles and our accessories at giveandtoke.com.au.

Sally King is a member of the New Zealand Medical Cannabis Council (and former Executive Director) and the 2026 Cannabiz Campaigner of the Year.Since 2019, Sally has helped build Aotearoa New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis sector, working across government, industry, healthcare, research and patient advocacy to turn competing interests into collaborative solutions.We talk about how cannabis campaigning has evolved, building an industry alongside a new regulatory scheme, the art of getting different stakeholders around the same table, and what Australia and New Zealand can learn from each other.Plus, Sally’s fellow Campaigner of the Year finalists Melanie Wentzel, and Kristin Viccars join the episode with questions of their own.A conversation about collaboration, credibility, knowing when to push back, and why we can go further together than we can apart.Visit www.giveandtoke.com.auFollow @giveandtoke on InstagramEmail [email protected]

This podcast is supported by Azure Health. Visit ⁠⁠azurehealth.com.au/giveandtoke⁠⁠ to learn more.Brent Bryksa has spent more than 25 years finding another way.After a car accident at 17 left him with a T4 spinal cord injury, cannabis became part of rebuilding his life. What began as medicine soon became a passion for cultivation, with Brent adapting his grows around life in a wheelchair and eventually turning that experience into Wheelchair Weed Craft Cannabis.Today, he grows around 700 plants across 12 grow rooms in Powell River, British Columbia.Brent joins Give & Toke to talk about growing, independence, accessibility, purpose, and the countless things able-bodied people never have to think about.Plus, we play Helping or Hurting?, putting some well-intentioned wheelchair etiquette to the test.Visit www.wheelchairweed.comVisit www.giveandtoke.com.auFollow @giveandtoke on InstagramEmail [email protected]

This podcast is supported by Azure Health. Visit ⁠azurehealth.com.au/giveandtoke⁠ to learn more.This episode, we’re turning the mic around.A few months ago, before I started working with Rachel Payne, I joined her on My Joint for a conversation about cannabis, culture, changing attitudes and why there needs to be room to get things wrong while we figure out what comes next.Visit ⁠www.rachelpayne.com.au⁠Follow Rachel on Instagram ⁠@rachelpayne_mp⁠Follow Rachel on Twitter ⁠@rachelpaynemp⁠Visit ⁠giveandtoke.com.au⁠Follow Give and Toke on Instagram ⁠@giveandtoke⁠Email Us ⁠[email protected]

This podcast is supported by Azure Health. Visit azurehealth.com.au/giveandtoke to learn more.Bill Simpson didn't set out to write a book about cannabis. He set out to make sense of an experience that changed the way he saw himself, his creativity, and the world around him.In Drenched in Wonder, Bill shares his journey from a childhood shaped by fear and stigma, through the joy and curiosity of discovering cannabis as an adult, to a period where that relationship became far more complex than he ever expected.This conversation explores creativity, mental health, responsibility, and the importance of holding space for nuance. Rather than asking whether cannabis is good or bad, Bill invites us to ask better questions about our relationship with the plant, ourselves, and the stories we tell.Whether you're a patient, a curious observer, or someone who's never thought much about cannabis at all, this is a thoughtful conversation about wonder, perspective, and what it means to find balance.Pre-Order Bill's book, Drenched in Wonder, here: drenchedinwonder.comFollow @tapdancingbill on InstagramVisit www.giveandtoke.com.auFollow @giveandtoke on InstagramEmail [email protected]

This podcast is supported by Azure Health. Visit azurehealth.com.au/giveandtoke to learn more.What responsibility does a medicinal cannabis industry have to the people it serves?After experiencing a severe reaction to a prescribed product, Yuki Stanborough began asking questions that led to independent testing, regulatory engagement, and a deeper look at patient safety.In this episode, we explore plant growth regulators, why inhalation changes the risk profile, and where current testing standards may fall short.We also look at a different side of the industry - Indigenous partnership, stewardship of land, and a more considered approach to cannabis as medicine.Follow @kaizensupplychainsolutions on InstagramVisit www.giveandtoke.com.auFollow @giveandtoke on InstagramEmail [email protected]

This podcast is supported by Azure Health. Visit azurehealth.com.au/giveandtoke to learn more.Cannabis has long been reduced to simple labels like THC percentage, indica, and sativa. But the deeper you go, the more complex the plant becomes.In this special roundtable, Paul is joined by Dr Colin P. Nuckolls, Alec Koudijs, and Tom Forrest for a conversation about sun-grown cannabis, terroir, plant classification, and why the way we measure quality may be missing the bigger picture.Together, they explore what makes cannabis good, what the industry still gets wrong, and why where a plant is grown might matter more than we think.Contact Colin Nuckolls at Columbia UniversityLearn more about HennepFollow @tomforrestcf on InstagramVisit www.giveandtoke.com.auFollow @giveandtoke on InstagramEmail [email protected]

This podcast is supported by Azure Health. Visit azurehealth.com.au/giveandtoke to learn more.Remi-Dean Ryan is a long-time industry operator who has worked across almost every layer of the Australian cannabis ecosystem. From cultivation and post-harvest through to pharmacy, genetics, packaging and supply chain, he has seen how the system actually functions from the inside out.Now working with Sativite, Remi brings a rare end-to-end perspective on the realities of medical cannabis in Australia, beyond the headlines and hype, grounded in lived experience across the full lifecycle of the plant.What makes Remi’s story compelling is his ability to move between two worlds that do not always align. He is deeply connected to cannabis culture and community, while also operating within a highly regulated medical framework. It is a balance many struggle to hold, and in this conversation he speaks openly about what that looks like in practice.Together, Paul and Remi unpack the current state of the Australian cultivation market, the pressures facing local growers, and whether the system is set up for long-term sustainability.They also explore what it means to stay connected to the roots of the plant and to community in an industry increasingly shaped by regulation, scale and commercial reality.Research Note: This episode also touches on a broader theory popularised by Kevin Jodrey: that the removal of hemp as a common agricultural and dietary input may have contributed to modern endocannabinoid dysregulation. While compelling, this remains largely theoretical. It sits adjacent to the work of Ethan Russo, whose Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency hypothesis explores how dysfunction in the endocannabinoid system may contribute to conditions like migraine, fibromyalgia and IBS.Follow @remideanofficial on InstagramFind Remi-Dean Ryan on LinkedinVisit www.giveandtoke.com.auFollow @giveandtoke on InstagramEmail [email protected]