High-profile cannabis company Nectar Brands leaves Melbourne office

The co-founder of a high-flying medical cannabis firm that was evicted from its offices in a blue-chip suburb has spoken out.

High-flying medical cannabis company Nectar Brands has been evicted from its offices for failing to pay rent.

The company, which runs online marijuana dispensary Polln and also makes its own range of medical cannabis products, had its office on Canterbury Rd, Canterbury, in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

However, the landlord re-entered the property on February 22 and Nectar, which according to a glowing newspaper profile in November turned over more than $11m last year, now runs out of an office a few kilometres away in Hawthorn.

Co-founder of Nectar Brands, Grace Tan. Picture: LinkedIn

The offices were previously located at 173 Canterbury Road in the exclusive Melbourne suburb of Canterbury.

Co-founder Grace Tan said the move was due to a stoush over maintenance.

“We voluntarily vacated the premises at 173 Canterbury last year due to the lessor’s failure to maintain the property adequately during our occupancy,” she said.

“All matters relating to the property have been fully resolved.”

The move comes as the broader online cannabis prescription industry, which has boomed in recent years, comes under increasing scrutiny from regulators and doctors.

Nectar Brands runs three businesses - Polln, “premium medicinal cannabis brand” Cultiva and online women’s pain clinic Hazel.

Chris Nasr, co-founder of Nectar Brands. Picture: LinkedIn

In November, co-founder Chris Nasr told the Australian Financial Review that the business was inspired by his aunt’s struggle with pain following a stroke.

“We went down a rabbit hole looking for natural alternatives,” he told the paper.

“That pushed me into looking for other options and medicinal cannabis became a big part of my world.”

Doctors can prescribe liquids, dried herb and other forms of marijuana-based products through a special access scheme.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s statistics show that access to the scheme was approved almost 132,000 times last year, up from 2559 in 2018.

So far this year, access has been approved more than 51,000 times, mostly for chronic pain and anxiety.

Medical cannabis business Nectar Brands has been evicted from its office.

However, the TGA last month said it was investigating reports of sub-standard medical cannabis, which it said could be contaminated or contain the wrong amount of active ingredients THC and CBD.

“Substandard products could have a serious impact on the health of patients,” TGA head Anthony Lawler said.

Meanwhile, the peak body representing general practitioners wants tighter regulation of online cannabis prescribing.

President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Nicole Higgins said companies in the sector had a conflict of interest, especially if they manufactured their own products, and were in danger of “putting profit before patients”.

She said that despite slick marketing, there was little good scientific evidence that cannabis is effective in treating many of the conditions for which it is prescribed.

“They’re single-issue companies and as GPs we look after the whole of person,” Dr Higgins said.

“These are companies that are often targeting vulnerable people with options that often don’t have a lot of evidence.

“Consumers need to have informed consent and these are products that are expensive, that they may or may not need.”

She said the industry wasn’t subject to the same regulation as mainstream therapy covered by government payment schemes the Medicare Benefits Schedule, which covers medical treatments, and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which covers drugs.

“Because they sit outside the MBS and the PBS they aren’t subject to reporting like other medicines,” Dr Higgins said.