Alex Abellan
Victoria's Inner Harbour at sunset, British Columbia

AlexAbellan.com · Greater Victoria, British Columbia

Alex Abellan

Entrepreneur · Actor · Writer · Cannabis Industry Advocate

President of Chakra Cannabis® and founder of National Access Cannabis (NAC), Alex has spent more than a decade putting Canada on the world stage as an advocate for the responsible, safe dispensing of cannabis — work that began on screen, and grew into one of Canada's first national medical cannabis companies.

IMDb Profile Media & Videos Get in Touch
2014Founded National Access Cannabis in Victoria, BC — one of Canada's first medical cannabis care companies
#1 in CanadaNAC Corp. grew into Canada's largest publicly traded cannabis retailer by revenue
11 clinicsMedical cannabis clinics from Charlottetown to Vancouver by 2017
Born in OttawaBorn in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Spanish immigrant parents; based on Vancouver Island

About

It started with his father.

Alex Abellan — credited on screen as Alejandro Abellan — came to cannabis through family, not business. When his father was dying of cancer, Alex researched medical cannabis as an alternative to the morphine that left his father in a fog. What he found changed the direction of his life.

“I researched and learned about the benefits of medical cannabis when my father was dying of cancer. My father did not react well to the morphine doctors gave him — he was in a fog and couldn't communicate. When we treated him with cannabis, it relieved his pain and we were able to connect with him.” — Alex Abellan, founder of National Access Cannabis, in NAC's 2015 launch story

Before cannabis, Alex spent years in philanthropy, helping underprivileged people find housing and employment. Along the way he met dozens of people who had found relief in cannabis — and discovered how little reliable education or safe access existed for them. In 2014, in Victoria, BC, he founded National Access Cannabis to change that: education first, physician and pharmacist support, and responsible access inside Health Canada's system.

Today, as president of Chakra Cannabis®, Alex is building the next chapter: an education-first brand backed by AI-powered product intelligence — tools that read laboratory certificates of analysis and help people understand cannabinoids, terpenes, and their own endocannabinoid system, so every choice is informed.

Cannabis plant flowering in a sunlit greenhouse

Responsible, science-led cultivation has been at the centre of Alex's work since 2014.

CTV News · October 8, 2015

“Australian girls in B.C. for cannabis oil treatment”

Live on CTV national television Tabetha & Georgia-Grace Fulton Cited in Alex's Wikipedia biography

That was the CTV News headline on October 8, 2015 — and Alex was on CTV national television, live, as the story ran across the country. Two young Australian sisters, Tabetha and Georgia-Grace Fulton, had travelled to British Columbia with their family seeking cannabis oil treatment for a rare lung disease — treatment they could not get at home. In every practical sense, they were medical refugees.

Alex went to work on both sides of the Pacific. Through National Access Cannabis, he worked with the Australian and Canadian governments to help the family get the girls into care in B.C., where a pediatric lung specialist worked with the sisters through their treatment.

“We had a pediatric lung specialist working with them — and we healed them.” — Alex Abellan

The case became one of the defining early stories of medical cannabis in Canada: two children, two governments, and a treatment their own country would not yet allow. It is cited in Alex's Wikipedia biography.

CTV News — “Australian girls in B.C. for cannabis oil treatment,” October 8, 2015 · See the citation in Alex's Wikipedia biography →

Cannabis Advocate

Building Canada's responsible cannabis industry

From a single Victoria care centre to a national, publicly traded retailer — and advocacy that reached from Ottawa to Australia.

  1. 2014 — National Access Cannabis is founded

    Alex founds NAC in Victoria, BC and becomes its first CEO, building local care centres that connect patients with physicians, pharmacist consultations, and guidance on safe, legal access under Health Canada's medical marijuana system. Biography

  2. 2015 — A national education model, told on video

    NAC launches nationally with video testimonials from Canadians benefiting from responsible medical cannabis — including Alex's own story about his father. Care centres open across the country, including Ottawa's first centre for access to medical marijuana. Launch release & videos · NAC in B.C.

  3. 2015 — The Fulton girls, live on CTV national television

    Alex appears live on CTV national television as Australian sisters Tabetha and Georgia-Grace Fulton come to B.C. for cannabis oil treatment for a rare lung disease — CTV News, “Australian girls in B.C. for cannabis oil treatment,” October 8, 2015. Working with both governments and a pediatric lung specialist, he helps the girls get the care they came for. The full story

  4. 2016 — Taking on the opioid crisis

    NAC launches a two-year international harm-reduction study investigating prescribed cannabis as a substitute for prescription opioids in chronic pain — at the time, the largest study of its kind in North America. Study announcement

  5. 2017 — Maclean's: “Ottawa's pot penthouse in the sky”

    Maclean's profiles Alex and the downtown Ottawa penthouse where angel investors, government officials, and tech innovators gathered to shape Canada's emerging legal cannabis industry — with NAC operating 11 clinics between Charlottetown and Vancouver. Read the Maclean's story

  6. 2019 — From NAC to Meta Growth

    The company Alex founded — by then Canada's largest publicly traded cannabis retailer by revenue — rebrands as Meta Growth Corp. as it leads the recreational retail market. CNW release

  7. Today — Chakra Cannabis® & AI product intelligence

    As president of Chakra Cannabis, Alex is focused on education and technology: AI tools that decode lab results (COAs), cannabinoid and terpene profiles, and the endocannabinoid system — including the Chakra Cannabis AI / Navigator™ concept, which matches products to the effects people actually report.

Film crew shooting on location by the water in Vancouver, British Columbia

Alex's screen career began in British Columbia's film industry in the late 1990s.

Acting & Voice

On screen as Alejandro Abellan

Alex's first job in the film industry was as Antonio Banderas's stand-in and photo double on The 13th Warrior. His first major role followed — Tito in Phenomenon — and a run of film and television work in Canada and the U.S., including voice work on Assassin's Creed. Full credits are on his IMDb page.

  • Assassin's CreedVoiceover credit — full listing on IMDb
  • The 13th WarriorStand-in & photo double for Antonio Banderas
  • PhenomenonTito — first major acting role
  • Romeo! (Nickelodeon)Coach Quintero
  • The Santa Clause 2Teacher (2002)
  • The CoreU.S.S. Soldier (2003)
  • Gray MattersFeature film (2007)
  • The Keeper · The Gambler, the Girl and the GunslingerFeature films
Full Credits on IMDb Filmography

Media & Videos

Coverage, interviews & video

A decade of national coverage — from NAC's first video stories to Maclean's, CTV, and industry press. Every link below was checked for this site.

IMDb

Alex on IMDb

Complete screen and voice credits for Alejandro Abellan — including the Assassin's Creed voiceover credit, The 13th Warrior, Romeo!, The Core, and The Santa Clause 2.

Open IMDb profile →
Video

Alex Abellan — Compassion and Cannabis

Alex on compassion and cannabis — the video featured on AlexAbellan.com.

Watch on YouTube →
CTV News · Oct 8, 2015

“Australian girls in B.C. for cannabis oil treatment”

Alex live on CTV national television: Australian sisters Tabetha and Georgia-Grace Fulton come to B.C. for cannabis oil treatment for a rare lung disease — a case he helped advance with both governments and a pediatric lung specialist.

Read the full story →
Maclean's · Dec 14, 2017

Ottawa's pot penthouse in the sky

Maclean's profiles Alex — “the magical place where investors, bureaucrats and pot gurus gather” — as Canada prepares for legalization and NAC pushes into recreational retail.

Read the profile →
CTV Ottawa · 2015

Ottawa's first medical cannabis centre

Coverage of NAC opening the capital's first centre for access to medical marijuana in Hintonburg, with physician and pharmacist support for Health Canada's program.

Read the coverage →
Industry Press

Building Canada's largest cannabis retailer

How the company Alex founded grew to lead Canadian cannabis retail — and its 2019 evolution into Meta Growth Corp., covered by CNW and industry outlets.

Read on CNW →
Interview

Capitalizing on legalization

New Cannabis Ventures interviews NAC's leadership on the road to October 17, 2018 legalization, maximum retail footprint, and international medical markets.

Read the interview →
Research · 2016

Cannabis vs. the opioid epidemic

NAC's international harm-reduction study on cannabis as a substitute for prescription opioids — announced as the largest study of its kind in North America.

Read the announcement →
Biography

Alejandro Abellan — Wikipedia

The sourced biography: Ottawa-born to Spanish immigrant parents, the Banderas stand-in start, founding NAC in 2014, the Fulton sisters advocacy, and the Maclean's feature.

Open biography →

Contact

Business, media & speaking

For business enquiries, media requests, or speaking on cannabis education, responsible access, and AI-powered product intelligence, reach out by email — or connect through the profiles below.

Email Alex IMDb Wikipedia