About: Women’s bodies are rhythmic. Across a single month womens hormones shift dramatically. Estrogen rises and falls. Progesterone comes and goes. Our nervous system moves between states of expansion and contraction. Pain sensitivity changes. Desire changes. Sleep changes. Mood changes. And yet most conversations about cannabis completely ignore this. In Australia over the past decade the plant has been discussed through a very narrow lens: potency, THC percentages, and a one-size-fits-all approach to dosing. But the reality is far more interesting especially when we start looking at women’s physiology.
This panel explores what happens when we bring cannabis into conversation with the female body. At the centre of this story is the endocannabinoid system, a regulatory system that helps maintain balance in the body. It influences pain, stress responses, inflammation, reproductive hormones, sexual function and emotional regulation. In other words, it sits right at the crossroads of the nervous system and the endocrine system. For women, this intersection matters. Emerging research suggests the endocannabinoid system is deeply involved in reproductive biology. Hormonal shifts across the menstrual cycle may influence how cannabinoids are experienced affecting everything from pain perception to mood to sexual response. Many women intuitively notice that cannabis feels different at different points in their cycle, but very little public conversation has explored why.
Then there’s the nervous system. Pleasure, arousal and intimacy are not simply psychological experiences they are physiological states. When the nervous system is in survival mode, the body contracts. When the nervous system feels safe, the body opens. Cannabis may interact with these processes in complex ways, sometimes supporting relaxation and connection, and other times amplifying anxiety depending on dose, context and individual biology.
This panel opens up a conversation that has been missing from both cannabis culture and women’s health. Why do some women find cannabis helpful for pelvic pain conditions like endometriosis or period pain? Why do responses to cannabis sometimes change during perimenopause? What role might the endocannabinoid system play in stress regulation, sleep and sexual wellbeing? And how do we move beyond the outdated narrative that cannabis is only about getting high?
The deeper question underneath all of this is body literacy. For generations women have been taught to override or ignore their bodies. But a new conversation is emerging, one where women are becoming curious about their cycles, their nervous systems, their pleasure and their health. Cannabis sits right in the middle of that conversation.
This session blends emerging science, lived experience and cultural reflection to explore how cannabis might interact with women’s bodies across different life stages. It invites curiosity, nuance and honest dialogue about topics that are often left out of both medical discussions and cannabis panels. When we start talking about hormones, cycles, the nervous system and pleasure, we start telling a compelling story about cannabis and about women’s health.
Speakers:
Kyla de Clifford
Canna Curious
Kyla de Clifford is the host of the Canna Curious Podcast and a leading advocate for plant-based medicine in women’s health. Her career spans continents, with a background in brand management across Dubai and Doha before returning to Australia in 2016 to pursue entrepreneurship. She went on to found a fragrance business and work in property development before a shoulder injury and a family cancer diagnosis led her to explore CBD and integrative health. That experience sparked a deep commitment to education and advocacy, particularly for women navigating perimenopause and menopause. In 2020, Kyla founded Ruby Mary Botanicals in the United States, a women-centred wellness brand supporting midlife transitions through plant-based care. And more recently she launched into the Australian market with an organic hemp intimacy oil. Today, she educates and empowers women to understand their bodies and reclaim their health through evidence-based, accessible tools. Alongside her work, Kyla is a solo mother of three and brings a grounded, lived-experience lens to everything she creates.
Bee Mohamed
Founder, MATA Collective
Bee Mohamed is a Government Relations and advocacy professional working at the intersection of policy, regulation, and lived experiences. With over a decade of experience across public, private, and advocacy sectors, she specialises in influencing policy development, and forging partnerships that translate policy into tangible access for patients. She has spent close to 7 years in the medicinal cannabis industry, and currently is an Ambassador for Harm Reduction Australia and Founder of Mata, a platform that aims to improve health outcomes by connecting people through storytelling and trusted holistic healthcare knowledge. Bee strongly believes that healthcare systems must be people-centred, guided by both evidence and lived experience.
Melanie Wentzel
Author, Cannabis Queens
Melanie Wentzel is a multi-award-winning Healthcare Strategist to the Global Cannabis Industry, Bestselling Author, Influential Thought Leader, International Speaker, Consultant and Coach and is currently undertaking her Masters in Neuroscience at the University of New England. She is a ‘Women Changing The World emerging global thought leader” (UK 2024) and the Top Healthcare Strategist of 2026 as awarded by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP, USA, 2026). She is deeply passionate about women and their communities and believes the reemergence of cannabis as a therapeutic tools is our greatest opportunity to improve patient outcomes and experience and relieve pressure on health systems globally.
Rachel Payne
MLC Victoria, Legalise Cannabis Party
Rachel Payne MP is a Member of the Victorian Legislative Council, representing the Legalise Cannabis party of Victoria. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and qualifications in Sociology and Politics as well as extensive experience in leadership, advocacy and campaigning gained through executive, management, policy and research roles for organisations such as Eros Association, Family Court Australia and Centrelink. Rachel is also an acclaimed performance artist, touring as Freckles Blue in Paris and London. An advocate for women’s rights, equality, inclusivity, and social and community development, Rachel is also actively involved in the LGBTIQ+ community. Rachel believes that cannabis law reform is well overdue. She is keen to drive the conversation around the role of cannabis as a catalyst for new economic opportunities, environmental ingenuity and creation.
