“The only one in the industry not turning or looking for a profit”
That’s how Aaron Spencer refers to his new Goodna business.
The young man admits he is as straight laced as they come but as co-founder of the country’s first legal cannabis consumption space, Professional Pot Smoker, he sees the benefits already in the legacy he is building.
With his father he ran a pilot program over the last two to three years to identify a need for such a space in the Goodna community. Following this, last month, he and his father opened up the business.
The club has now passed 400 members.
Its co-founder said the concept grew from identifying a clear void in the community for medicinal cannabis users.
“The lack of in-between from getting prescribed and then getting dispensed was a big reason we opened,” the 21-year-old Spencer said.
Additionally, he said he found information on the ground regarding the industry and processes, scarce
However, he believes the more people talk about it, the more understanding there will be at community level.
The club is only open to those who use medicinal cannabis and is not a despensary, although Spencer said they are still seeing thousands of enquiries from people who don’t use.
However, these people want to simply be involved with the ground-breaking club.
“At least 70% of the time I get an enquiry, it’s people that don’t even smoke cannabis and they just want to get involved in a community-based sort of thing.
“A big thing highlighted in the (medical literature) is the social isolation suffered by many cannabis users.”
As a result, the club holds social gatherings that includes chess nights, movie nights for that growing community with those events set to expand.
Because it is not covered by PBS, cost is currently at 15 grams for $90 for flower and the oil between $40 and $60.
In regards to this point, Spencer said Australia can do a lot to revolutionize the industry.
When asked about the stigma or taboo surrounding medical cannabis, Spencer said he believed there would always be a stigma surrounding this issue.
“There’s always going be two sides of a coin.” He said he sees Australian opinion on the topic as very divided and in particular, for one financial reason.
“… I think it’s because at the end of the day Australia’s only brought it (medicinal cannabis) in because of the tax benefits it has. The greatest advantage it has in Australia is that it’s approved at a Federal level.”
Through that approval, Spencer said they have a plan to grow as a group motivated by change and a revolution based on medical cannabis.
He explained the growth plan in terms of chapters.
“People can start up their own stuff, their own sort of little chapter and then they’ll run it.
“We’ll just overlook it and make sure that people don’t breach any laws and that everything is in line.”
With a monthly membership cost of $4.20, all membership profit goes towards social reinvestment.
Additionally it goes to program development and the advancement of the medical cannabis revolution in this country.
Spencer said the Australian-first location will continue to create pathways for understanding and education.
“We see this as the next step in bringing together people to discuss cannabis in a calm and safe environment, engage with medical professionals and gain insights into the community they now belong to.
“We are seeing the effects we have in having an impact on legislation and real change in the industry.
“This is only a start, but we believe it will be a game-changer.”
