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Netherlands drops 1 July 2028 date for ending medicinal cannabis monopoly

The Dutch Government has told Parliament the reform allowing several medicinal cannabis suppliers will not take effect on 1 July 2028 and has set no new date. Securing patient supply after Bedrocan's insolvency now comes first.

By Neil Cartwright · · 1 min read

The Dutch Government has withdrawn 1 July 2028 as the date for ending the state monopoly on medicinal cannabis and has not set another. According to a Cannabis Magazine report, Health Minister Sophie Hermans told the Tweede Kamer on 6 November 2026 that securing supply after Bedrocan's insolvency, declared on 8 October, takes priority.

  • Who is affected: patients, pharmacies and prescribers now, and would-be operators under the planned Opium Act amendment.
  • Stock: the Bureau Medicinale Cannabis (BMC) estimates its last deliveries to pharmacies at mid-Q3 2027 for Bedrocan, Bediol and Bedica, the start of Q3 2027 for Bedrolite and the start of Q2 2027 for Bedrobinol. Pharmacies still hold three months' shelf life when they dispense.
  • Tender: a European tender is planned for December 2026, with a supplier chosen in May 2027. Later answers give September 2027 for contracting. Nothing has been awarded.
  • Next: the Government will report again in spring 2027. A change in THC and CBD composition cannot be excluded.

What this means

Our analysis: the monopoly stays, and so do its costs, for longer than planned.

  • Law today: the BMC keeps its exclusive right under Opiumwet art. 8i. Pharmacies supply on prescription (BMC).
  • Exports: a letter of 3 July 2026 says the BMC stops exporting at the end of 2026. Foreign buyers dependent on BMC product should plan for that.
  • Patients: the price is EUR 35 per 5 g excluding VAT, and the basic insurance package does not cover it. A product switch raises cost questions as well as clinical ones.

Limits

  • No consultation date or switch date for imported cannabis has been published.

Sources

This is information, not legal, tax or financial advice.

Information, not legal advice. Check the primary source before relying on it.

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