NL’s only legal medicinal cannabis grower goes bust

Patients who use medicinal cannabis face having to switch to imported products after the only licensed grower in the Netherlands was declared bankrupt on Thursday.

A court in Groningen declared Veendam-based Bedrocan bankrupt two weeks after the company had applied for protection from its creditors. The firm, whose main growing site is in Emmeloord, employs around 70 people.

Bedrocan ran into trouble after the health ministry ended its contract at the start of this year. All medicinal cannabis sold in Dutch pharmacies is bought and distributed by the state-run Bureau for Medicinal Cannabis (BMC).

The ministry ended the deal in anticipation of a change in the law that will let growers sell directly to pharmacies. But health minister Sophie Hermans (VVD) told MPs in July that the change is not expected to take effect until July 1, 2028.

That left Bedrocan unable to supply the BMC and not allowed to sell to pharmacies itself, the Volkskrant reported. The state was by far its largest customer.

Limited stockpile
The BMC built up a stockpile of Bedrocan cannabis before the contract ended, but the minister said it was limited and had a finite shelf life. The BMC will switch to imported cannabis during 2027, with products matching current THC and CBD levels as closely as possible.

Around 7,000 people in the Netherlands are prescribed medicinal cannabis, according to the Volkskrant. They include people with multiple sclerosis (MS), severe pain, certain forms of epilepsy, and patients in palliative care.

Patients fear a different variety will not work as well for them. Cannabis contains many compounds that together determine its effect, and the mix depends on the plant and how it is grown.

The MS association has written to Hermans warning that some long-term patients depend on a specific variety.

Bedrocan also supplied patients in other European countries through the BMC. The BMC is due to stop exporting at the end of 2026. In September, Bedrocan told foreign pharmacies and wholesalers to order from it directly.