IT’S Wednesday evening in Osborne Park and a crowd of around 30 people have gathered at Plant Playground in Guthrie Street, a “concept space” where you might find anything from night markets and food vans through to a temporary skateboard park at the back.
But tonight the focus is on a group that are usually forced to stay inconspicuous because their activity faces backlash – or worse, attracts the scrutiny of the law – medicinal cannabis users.
Female founded and run Plant Playground opened in 2022 as a hydroponics store, but has since developed into a speciality coffee shop, kombucha bar, and concept space.
In 2024, founder Sasha Lai and friends began hosting educational events for the community to learn about the progress of medicinal cannabis in Australia.
Held under the name Playground Afterdark, attendees can expect live music, sound healing, food trucks, a sweet treat and night markets among other unique events.
• It could be the bar at any boutique pub, but we’re in Osborne Park and Plant Playground Plant Playground community manager Courtney Griffin and store manager Alex Holt are giving some patrons the opportunity to step out of the shadows.
Following policies of other venues such as Freo Social, patients approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration can consume their medication in a safe and supportive space.
Non-patients are welcome but a prescription is needed before anyone can consume, and patients must follow the TGA guidelines.
“When we first put together our house policy, that just goes into all the details of medicinal cannabis, how to store it, consume it and safely bring it out in public,” Plant Playground community manager Courtney Griffin said.
“We were looking at different venues around Australia to see if they had anything similar and we found a policy by Freo Social about medicinal cannabis; you can consume outside in their smoking area.”
Vaporiser
Under TGA guidelines, consumption is typically via a vaporiser, policies and waivers must be consistently updated to keep in line with its regulations and federal legislation on medicinal cannabis.
“Our waiver puts that responsibility back on people to do their own research, go to the TGA website,” Ms Griffin said.
“We are just here to have that space for people, as long as people are responsible and they know what they can and can’t do, they are respectful of our space and what we do.”
Having a safe public space to consume cannabis can be particularly important to renters, who might earn the ire of a landlord if their use was discovered.
Ms Griffin says they haven’t had any incidents requiring intervention since opening.
“Any feedback that our guests give us, we take that strongly on board,” she said.
“The community make sure we know what is expected of us; we’re just trying to do the right thing by the government, by people, by us as well.”
Medicinal cannabis is used to treat a variety of conditions such as cancer, chronic pain, and sleep disorders.
Access to the plant for medicinal purposes was made federally legal in 2016, in 2022-2023 it was estimated 700,000 or around 3 per cent of Australia’s population – have used cannabis for medicinal purposes.
“Medicinal cannabis isn’t a quick fix or a cure-all. Instead, medicinal cannabis is an evidence-based treatment that considers the patient’s condition and circumstances,” the TGA states on its website.
“This is why medicinal cannabis products are prescription medicines in Australia. Our regulatory controls on medicinal cannabis minimise the risk of harm from inappropriate use, while ensuring that it is available to appropriate patients.”
by SOUL FAZZINO