On Thursday 8 October a court in Groningen declared Bedrocan bankrupt. It was the only licensed medical cannabis grower in the Netherlands, and had applied for protection from creditors two weeks earlier. Its collapse leaves the Dutch system without a domestic producer and forces the state to rely on imports.
A contract that ended before the new law
Bedrocan, headquartered in Veendam with its main growing site in Emmeloord and around 70 employees, sold almost all of its output to the state. The Ministry of Health ended its contract at the start of 2026, ahead of a reform that will let growers sell directly to pharmacies.
The problem is timing. Health minister Sophie Hermans told parliament in July that the change will not arrive before 1 July 2028. In the meantime Bedrocan could neither supply the Office of Medicinal Cannabis (BMC), the public body that buys and distributes the product, nor sell to pharmacies itself. That is how DutchNews reports it, in line with Faillissementsdossier.
Limited stock and 7,000 patients waiting
Around 7,000 people in the Netherlands are prescribed medical cannabis: patients with multiple sclerosis, severe pain, certain forms of epilepsy or in palliative care. The BMC built up a stockpile of Bedrocan product before the contract ended, but the minister acknowledged it is limited and has a finite shelf life. Belgian and Dutch media say it should last until roughly mid-2027.
The MS patients’ association has already written to the minister: some patients have used one specific variety for years and fear another will not work as well, because the effect depends on the plant’s full compound profile.
The BMC will switch to imports in 2027
The announced fix is to move to imported cannabis during 2027, choosing products that match current THC and CBD levels as closely as possible. There is a second front too: the BMC will stop exporting at the end of 2026. In September Bedrocan had already asked foreign pharmacies and wholesalers to order from it directly, and distributors in other countries, such as Denmark’s Stenocare, have warned investors about uncertain supply of these products from 2027.
The case carries a lesson for the whole industry: a regulated market that depends on a single supplier and a single public buyer is fragile, and a two-year gap between the end of a contract and a new law taking effect is enough to bring down the main player.
What it means for businesses
- An opening for EU-GMP producers. A public buyer that needs to import flower with defined THC and CBD profiles opens the door to certified growers elsewhere in Europe and beyond the EU.
- Product equivalence will decide. Whoever can document stable, consistent cannabinoid profiles across batches will have an edge in any tender.
- Regulatory risk in the supply chain. Distributors and pharmacies abroad that relied on Dutch product should line up alternative sources for 2027 now.
- Regulatory timelines as a business variable. A mismatch between public contracts and legal reform can reshape a whole market within months.
The debate comes to Bilbao
The reshaping of European supply, imports of EU-GMP flower and the role of public buyers will be on the table at Spannabis B2B Bilbao 2027, on 11 March in the VIP Hall of the BEC. If you produce, distribute or buy medical cannabis, this is the place to close deals with the companies that will fill this gap. Get your ticket or book a B2B table to meet producers and distributors from across Europe.