As discussions on cannabis are heating up around Australia, a growing number of cannabis users are taking to Reddit and other social media platforms to talk about their favourite plant.
Over the past few years, communities like r/Ausents have created a space where people who grow, consume and use cannabis can gather to discuss their experiences and give advice. r/Ausents currently has been around since 2012 and has 30.1k users.
Australia’s medical cannabis users are also carving out a space on Reddit. Specifically, they are flocking to r/MedicalCannabisAus and r/MedicalCannabisOz. Both subreddit’s have been around for just over a year and have thousands of subscribers (4.5k for r/MedicalCannabisAus and 1k for r/MedicalCannabisOz).
Both subreddits also provide a space for people to learn about medical cannabis, compare their options, review medications and talk about their experiences judgement-free. While medical cannabis is legal Australia-wide, it is heavily stigmatised. Medical cannabis patients also face a unique set of challenges – including driving, finding cannabis-friendly doctors and navigating cannabis and work (especially in workplaces that conduct drug testing and are squeamish about medical cannabis).
While some social media platforms such as Facebook (and online retailers) make it difficult to find cannabis-related communities despite their being many such as MCAU of Australia, Medical Cannabis Oil Australia, and more, cannabis subreddits have been left largely untouched.
Reddit also has several non-Australian subreddits dedicated to cannabis. This includes r/Marijuana, a 14-year-old subreddit with 211k members and r/trees and a 13-year-old subreddit with 1.7 million subscribers. More niche subreddits like r/Ketotrees have also become popular (r/Ketotrees helps people on the keto diet lose weight using cannabis).
While cannabis-centric communities may seem niche, the growth of cannabis subreddit’s demonstrates that there is clearly an audience for cannabis content. Since the start of 2020, r/Ausent’s community has doubled, and in more recent times r/MedicalCannabisAus and r/MedicalCannabisOz have built an entire community around medical cannabis.
As a member of the LCWA Party, and parliamentary candidate at the recent state election, it is gratifying to see the surge in public interest in the proliferation and legalisation of Cannabis. We have a battle on our hands, but I am confident that common sense will prevail.
Just a small note, MedicalCannabisOz was only created in March 2021, growing to over 1000 members in less than four months. It’s great to see more and more people becoming aware of medical cannabis and it’s possibilities for Australian patients!