Photography ANTONELLA MORELLI
Interview BEE MOHAMED
Paul O’Donoghue
A love for community – Founder of Give and Toke
BE MOHAMED: What motivated you to create Give and Toke?
PAUL O’DONOGHUE: Give & Toke has always been about giving people something that they’re not getting. When I started in 2019, I was simply reviewing flowers on Instagram because consumers on the Canadian adult-use market needed more information than what the government would allow.
Working in the Canadian cannabis industry allowed me to understand my intentional relationship with the plant, so I returned to Australia knowing that I needed to work towards empowering people to not feel ashamed of their consumption, and to know that they have a community they can learn with.
Today, the Give & Toke podcast exists to share the exceptional stories of the incredible people who have sacrificed their livelihoods, taken calculated value-based risks, or taken a hit to their credibility to advance the cause.
I’ve been really lucky to have the support of my wife, Ruth, throughout the whole journey and after years of unconditional encouragement, she’s not just a cheerleader but also an integral part of the Give & Toke operation. I couldn’t do any of this without her.
BM: What does the love for the community you have built mean to you?
PO’D: As a teen and in my early twenties, I was fiercely competitive. Unnecessarily driven by a relentless pursuit of personal success likely as the result of too many testosterone-fueled self-help manuals. But as I’ve grown older (and hopefully a little wiser), I’ve come to understand the power of collaboration, even in competitive spaces.
The cannabis industry is full of incredible creators: podcast hosts, small business owners, accessory designers, educators. Many of them are friends before anything else. If we’re in competition, it’s only in how well we can support the people we serve.
One of my favorite quotes, often attributed to Helen Keller, says: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” That informs how I feel about the community I’ve found through Give & Toke. I didn’t set out to build a community to lead but I did stumble into a community I’m constantly learning from. Every guest on the show, every listener, every DM, every customer provides an interaction that could be a chance for me to grow. It’s humbling, unpredictable, and exciting.
BM: Why is it important to be a part of a community?
PO’D: Being part of a community is incredibly important to me because it provides a sense of belonging, purpose, and connection. Communities offer essential emotional support systems and foster an environment where individuals can grow and learn from diverse perspectives.
BM: Could you share about your journey in health, and why access to a community can help your mental health and well-being?
PO’D: For most of my adult life, I have experienced challenges with my mental health and as a result, my physical and emotional wellbeing. I figured out pretty early on how bad alcohol is for my mood, and cannabis has long been a practical social and therapeutic replacement despite the fact that I was always heavily outnumbered in social settings.
For a long time, it was something I did secretly but getting to come “out of the shadows” whilst living in Canada, I was allowed to understand how cannabis works for me. Without the “Reefer Madness” attitudes we still so often subscribe to in Australia, I was able to understand intentionally and purpose when it came to cannabis consumption.
Being part of the Canadian cannabis community allowed me to better understand and advocate for mindful consumption, and I know given the countless messages I’ve received from listeners of the show that we are building a “Strength in Numbers” approach that is beginning to successfully inhibit the bad attitudes we often see towards cannabis use – whether from politicians, the media or our own families.
BM: At Mata, we believe that sharing stories is an important part of creating connectedness and community. What does storytelling mean to you?
PO’D: Stories allow us to connect, empathise, preserve, inspire, motivate, engage, influence, and persuade. We build relationships with stories, we create meaning, we gain a better understanding of the world.
Paul O’Donoghue is a former educator turned cannabis advocate, driven by a deep belief in the plant’s therapeutic potential.
In 2019, Paul launched Give & Toke as a passion project aimed at opening up more honest, thoughtful conversations around cannabis. What began as a simple storytelling platform has since evolved into a podcast and accessories brand, connecting with a growing community and amplifying voices across the industry.
Paul is a medicinal cannabis patient who now works in the Australian medicinal cannabis space with Somaí Pharmaceuticals.
