Australian Cannabis University (ACU) has recently opened a hemp store in Tweed Heads, in an effort to improve Australians opinions towards cannabis.
ACU is a non-profit organisation based in New South Wales. ACU is an education and community initiative that fights for cannabis reform. The organisation has roughly 30,000 members around Australia and runs a hemp farm in Northern NSW.
In March, ACU opened up their first direct-to-public facility on 8 Wharf Street, Murwillumbah. The facility operates as a store and an educational facility. Inside, visitors will find hemp clothing and household goods, foods and supplements, hemp growing supplies, and kitchen appliances used in hemp production.
The store also offers various relaxation treatments, including foot compression massage, a foot soak, and a sound bath. The profits from the store will be directed into the upkeep of ACU’s nearby hemp farm and cannabis law reform work.
According to ACU Senior Administrator Melanie Cooke, the educational focus of the store will teach people to use and grow medical cannabis safely and help the public improve their scientific understanding of cannabis.
Cooke told the Daily Telegraph that there are three primary misconceptions about cannabis that need correcting: it’s deadly, it makes people “lazy and stupid”, and it’s a gateway drug. Unfortunately, these perceptions often extend to the people who fight for cannabis reform.
While this stigma often manifests trouble with the communities around activists, Cook does not believe the store will attract negative attention from the public or the police.
We have law enforcement amongst our 30k members from constables to magistrates. Police enforce the law until the law changes – change the law, free the weed.
ACU also believes that the shop will be good for the local community. The store currently employs five people and stocks products from local small businesses. The store is currently open Wednesday to Friday 12 pm – 5 pm and Saturday 9 am – 3 pm. It also hosts Cannabis Club from 11 am – 1 pm the first Sunday of each month.
