The Canna Curious Podcast: Conversations on Cannabis, Wellness & Women’s Health

Cannabis research often feels confusing.

One study says the plant may help with pain, sleep or inflammation. The next headline warns about risk.

So what’s really going on?

In this episode of Canna Curious, I unpack why cannabis science has been so difficult to interpret for the past 70 years.

From the Nixon-era report that recommended decriminalisation but was ignored… to the discovery of the endocannabinoid system by Raphael Mechoulam...

In this episode of Canna Curious, Kyla sits down with psychiatric nurse Megan Simpson for an honest and deeply human conversation about mental health, stigma, and healing.

Megan has spent years working on the front lines of psychiatric care, supporting people through crisis, trauma, and severe mental illness. But behind that professional role was also a personal story — one that includes burnout, PTSD, and navigating her own path to...

This week on Canna Curious, I’m reflecting on 48 hours that revealed the tension inside Australia’s medicinal cannabis space.

From hosting a candlelit launch centred on women, story and nervous system safety…to having a thoughtful dinner conversation with Professor Kylie O’Brien about the TGA and AHPRA review…to walking the floor at UIC 2026 - one of the country’s major industry conferences.

On paper, the conference program was rigor...

In this episode, Kyla sits down with Bee Mohamed for a deep, behind-the-scenes conversation on health policy, patient advocacy, and the realities of building change inside broken systems.

Bee shares her journey from working in Parliament House under the Minister for Women, to frontline advocacy work during the rise of prescription medication dependency and overdose, to entering the medicinal cannabis sector with a simple hope: acces...

A History of Women in Cannabis - with Melanie Wentzel

Before prohibition.
Before pharma.
Before THC percentages became a marketing strategy.

Cannabis lived in women’s hands.

In this episode of Canna Curious, Kyla is joined by healthcare strategist, bestselling author of Cannabis Queens, and women’s health advocate Melanie Wentzel to trace the history of cannabis through a female lens.

Together, they travel back through:

• Anci...

In this episode, Kyla is joined by her friend Jess for a wide-ranging, honest conversation that starts with balance - and quickly reveals how complicated that word really is.

What does balance actually look like for women today? How do nervous systems stay regulated in a world of constant immediacy, technology, and responsibility? And where does the plant fit into that picture when used intentionally - not as an override, but as a s...

In this episode of Canna Curious, Kyla is joined by her close friend Sandrine for a deeply personal and emotional conversation about their friend Alethea (Leath) — who has been incarcerated for cannabis-related charges for just over a year.

This is not a legal analysis or a political debate. It’s a human conversation about friendship, shock, grief, love, anger, and the quiet resilience required when someone you love is caught in a s...

In this episode, ’m unpacking why I’ve started to push back on the idea of “responsible use” — at least the way it’s so often applied to women.

Because when we really look at it, “responsible” rarely means neutral or supportive.It usually means self-monitoring, self-correcting, and self-blaming — layered on top of bodies that are already expected to manage pain, emotion, cycles, stress, and capacity without much support.

This convers...

Do I Need a T-Break?

Tolerance breaks are usually framed like a punishment.
Like you’ve done something wrong.
Like you need to reset, detox, or start again.

But for many women, that framing doesn’t fit real life - or real bodies.

In this episode, Kyla takes a slower, more body-led look at tolerance breaks and what they’re actually for. This isn’t about abstinence or discipline. It’s about understanding when a break is helpful,...

Women, Hormones & Cannabis: Why Your Body Changes How the Plant Feels.

In this episode, we explore why so many women notice that cannabis feels different depending on where they are in their cycle, throughout perimenopause, or during periods of stress and hormonal change.

We unpack what’s actually happening in the body, why this experience is common (and normal), and how women can work with their changing physiology instead of bl...

In this episode of the Canna Curious Podcast, Kyla slows things right down and returns to the foundations.

Before conversations about strain names, dosing, or delivery methods  before stigma, shame, or opinion  this episode asks a simpler question:

What is actually happening inside your body when you take cannabis?

This episode is for patients.

For women who turn to this plant not to escape their lives - but to cope with pain, stress, ...

As the year draws to a close, Kyla pauses - not to summarise, but to sit inside what this season of listening has actually revealed.

Recorded from Melbourne, in a softer and more honest state than usual, this solo episode reflects on thirty-three conversations about women’s health, relief, regulation, and the quiet ways women learn to manage their bodies inside imperfect systems.

At the centre of the episode is a question Kyla has be...

What does a good medicinal cannabis clinic actually look like in Australia - and how do you spot the ones that should make you pause?

This episode was sparked by a moment many of us have had lately: seeing cannabis clinic advertising out in the wild that feels… off. 

Kyla shares a story about walking down the street with her 11-year-old when they spotted a very obvious (and very questionable) clinic poster - which opened a bigger con...

In this deeply honest conversation, Kyla sits down with Shaye Topaz a mum, insomniac, and long-time cannabis consumer  to explore what happens when the plant that helped you cope becomes something you rely on.

Shay shares her 12-year relationship with THC, from rolling joints at 18 for sleep, to mothering through stress, heartbreak, and survival… all the way to the moment she realised she was dependent, not addicted, and decided it ...

In this episode, we get real about something most parents are quietly struggling with: how to talk to kids and teens about cannabis in a world where edibles, vapes and oils are everywhere and often invisible.

Kids today are exposed earlier, more frequently, and in more confusing ways than ever before. Gummies look like lollies. Wellness-style bottles sit on shelves. TikTok jokes about edibles have millions of views. Whether you use ...

In this episode of Canna Curious, Kyla sits down with Alli Bannister, a mother, nurse practitioner, and survivor of an exceptionally rare form of appendix cancer. One so uncommon it affects only one in a million people.

What began as unexplained pain, bloating and digestive changes quickly escalated into emergency surgery, a Christmas Day hospitalisation, and the devastating discovery that cancer had spread across nearly all of Alli...

This week on the Canna Curious Podcast, Kyla sits down with Kaylee, a young woman whose journey with her body, identity, and the plant is as complex as it is courageous.

From navigating early puberty and intense body-image scrutiny, to experiencing schoolyard bullying and being dismissed by the medical system, Kaylee’s story shines a light on what it feels like to grow up “different” and how the plant became a source of relief, regu...

In this episode, Kyla sits down with Irena Katz - naturopath, educator, and pioneer of Australia’s herbal vape industry. From opening one of the first hydro stores in the country to helping shape a new understanding of plant medicine, Irina’s story is equal parts science, grit, and heart.

She shares how a heartbreaking moment when her one-year-old whippet, Lux, faced leg amputation  led her to experiment with CBD almost two decades ...

Today’s episode is raw, real, and deeply human. Kyla sits down with Sam Clohessy, a personal trainer from Western Australia, who shares her story of strength, survival, and self-discovery after being diagnosed with breast cancer at just 34 years old.

From her early days working on remote mine sites to building a fitness business and navigating the breakdown of her marriage, Sam opens up about how years of stress took a toll on her b...