NZ Hempress NZ founder Lisa Gadsby is embarking on a new phase in natural medicine promotion. Photo / Bevan Conley
NZ Hempress NZ founder Lisa Gadsby is embarking on a new phase in natural medicine promotion. Photo / Bevan Conley
Busy Whanganui mum Lisa Gadsby is set to leave the successful business she founded and join a groundbreaking Auckland-based medical practice as its business development manager.
Gadsby founded NZ Hempress in 2018 and was soon joined by Tarryn and Nick Thompson, who helped her grow their customer base and range of products to a stage where they are sold in over 200 outlets nationwide.
“I find it really hard to leave the company at this stage because we’ve been through so much together and we’ve overcome some very difficult challenges,” said Gadsby.
“I just had the feeling that I wanted to do more in terms of promoting the health benefits of medicinal cannabis and breaking down the stigma that surrounds it because there are so many people who could be benefitting from it.”
The Cannabis Clinic, founded by Dr Waseem Alzaher, is a practice where patients are prescribed cannabis-based treatments by a team of qualified medical practitioners who believe in the effectiveness of cannabinoids to treat a wide range of health conditions.
Alzaher said the clinic, in Takapuna, had built a strong reputation and eight new doctors had recently joined the team.
“We had been aware of Lisa’s work for some time and we have recruited her because of her ability to connect with people,” he said.
“We want to reduce the stigma around the use of legal, medicinal cannabinoids and Lisa is the ideal person to help us do that because we want to establish more clinics around the country. We recently opened a practice in Hastings and we will soon be opening one in Nelson.”
Gadsby will work from her home base in Whanganui and connect with people nationwide to promote the clinic’s work.
She is planning speaking tours and workshops as well as a podcast series.
“When cannabis is used as a medicine, qualified medical practitioners are needed to prescribe and monitor its effectiveness. My role is to promote the work they do and I will love doing that because their holistic approach is fantastic,” she said.
“Rather than just seeing patients for 15 minutes, they spend at least half an hour with them and aim to really get to know them.”
Alzaher said the aim was to extend the duration of appointment times while reducing the workload of doctors and nurses to create a modern medical model that was effective for everyone.
“We want to create safe places where people can come and talk to health professionals about medicinal cannabis,” he said.
“There are a lot of commonly held misconceptions about the treatments and we want to dispel those.”
Alzaher said some people believed that the treatments were only suitable for people with terminal conditions and that they were very expensive.
Lisa Gadsby is leaving the company she founded in good health as they launch a new range of products. Photo / Bevan Conley
He said chronic illness was not the only prerequisite for medicinal cannabis treatment and many clients were receiving treatment for sleep problems, stress, and general wellbeing complaints.
“Unfortunately some people who have been refused prescriptions by their GPs have turned to the illegal market. That has created a lot of mistrust toward medical professionals and we want to change that.
“It is so much better to be prescribed safe, tested products by a registered medical practitioner and the cost is often less than people pay for illegal products. The costs are around $200 per month and the treatments are suitable and safe for a wide range of conditions.”
Alzaher said hemp did not have the psychoactive properties of marijuana and the plant was a very useful one.
He believed that cannabis and other plant-based medicines that had been used in most cultures for centuries would increasingly become part of modern medical practice as acceptance and understanding of the benefits increased.
“We want people to feel better - that’s why we do this,” he said.
“We have recruited Lisa because she shares that ambition and she genuinely cares.”
Gadsby said her own interest in medicinal cannabis started when she was suffering from the skin condition psoriasis and her prescribed treatments weren’t working. Then a friend recommended hemp oil.
“The psoriasis was stress-induced and none of the prescribed treatments had worked.
“The hemp oil treatment gave me instant relief and I couldn’t believe how good it was. I was generally unwell at the time and after two weeks I felt so much better both physically and mentally.”
The experience inspired her to investigate other benefits and led to the founding of NZ Hempress.
In 2021 the company launched its cosmetic line Herbeauty and has now completed a full rebrand as Kure, bringing out several new hemp wellness products.
The success of the company has not been smooth sailing all the way, however.
In August 2021, NZ Hempress was ordered to cease trading by Medsafe because of concerns about the way hemp products were being marketed.
A rebranding eventually solved the problem but with children to support and a mortgage to be paid, Gadsby said it was a very anxious time causing some tears and sleepless nights.
“My children were amazing -they have supported me through the tough times and shared the celebrations,” said Gadsby.
“It’s been great for us as a family and I encourage other women, especially single mums to follow your aspirations because you can get there if you’re determined enough.”
Gadsby said Whanganui had been very supportive of her business and she would like to see a clinic established in the region in the near future.
“I’m very keen to talk to local registered health practitioners who might be interested,” she said.
