🇳🇱 Medical cannabis in Netherlands

B — controlled national programme: cannabis is an Opiumwet (Opium Act) substance that only the state Bureau voor Medicinale Cannabis (BMC, Office of Medicinal Cannabis) may supply to pharmacies; every doctor may prescribe it.

The BMC, part of the Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport (Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport), holds responsibility under the Opiumwet for production and supply of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes to pharmacies, hospitals and research institutions. Hennep (Cannabis) is on Lijst II of the Opiumwet. BMC's patient brochure: 'Iedere arts in Nederland mag medicinale cannabis voorschrijven.' Distinct from the recreational 'gedoogbeleid' and the closed-coffeeshop-chain experiment, which are not medical access routes.

Source: Bureau voor Medicinale Cannabis (cannabisbureau.nl) — home · read 27 September 2026

Five standardised dried-flower varieties from BMC — Bedrocan (~22% THC), Bedrobinol (~13.5%), Bedica (~14%), Bediol (~6.3% THC/~8% CBD), Bedrolite (<1% THC/~7.5% CBD) — plus pharmacy-made cannabis oil from those varieties; authorised medicines such as Sativex are separate.

BMC product page (checked 27.09.2026) lists the five varieties in 5 g jars; 'Met ingang van 1 februari 2026 zijn de prijzen gewijzigd naar €35 euro per 5 gram'. Bedica is the only indica variety. 'Een aantal apotheken in Nederland bereidt olie uit de medicinale cannabis van het BMC' — standardised oils on prescription from Transvaal Apotheek (The Hague), Clinical Cannabis Care BV (Breukelen) and Verenigde Apotheken Limburg; the oil is also an Opiumwet product.

Source: BMC — Producten (patiënteninformatie) · read 27 September 2026

Every doctor in the Netherlands may prescribe medicinal cannabis — GP or specialist; no authorisation list or prior approval exists.

BMC patient brochure (version November 2021): 'Iedere arts in Nederland mag medicinale cannabis voorschrijven.' The brochure lists conditions for which the government considers prescription supportable (MS pain/spasms, chemotherapy/HIV-related nausea and appetite loss, chronic neuropathic pain, Tourette, therapy-resistant glaucoma, certain epilepsies) but these are guidance, not legal gates. The doctor and patient decide variety, route and dose.

Source: BMC — Medicinale cannabis, informatiebrochure voor patiënten (PDF, versie november 2021) · read 27 September 2026

An Opiumwet prescription: it must name the product and state the quantity written out in letters, identify the patient, give the way of use and, if any, the number of repeats in letters.

Opiumwetbesluit (Opium Act Decree) art. 3 lid 2–3: the prescription must contain 'de naam van het voorgeschreven opiumwetmiddel alsmede, voluit in letters geschreven, de hoeveelheid daarvan', prescriber name/address/telephone, identification of the patient, 'een duidelijke omschrijving van de wijze van gebruik' and 'het toegelaten aantal herhalingen, voluit geschreven in letters'. No statutory maximum quantity or validity period for cannabis was found in the Decree text opened.

Source: Opiumwetbesluit (Opium Act Decree), wetten.overheid.nl BWBR0014405 · read 27 September 2026

No cannabis-specific rule on video consultations was found on official pages; general Dutch rules on prescribing at a distance apply, and the prescription must be an Opiumwet prescription dispensed by a Dutch pharmacy.

The BMC pages and the Opiumwetbesluit do not address remote consultations. The Geneesmiddelenwet (Medicines Act) contains a provision on prescribing via the internet (art. 67), but its text could not be opened in this session and is therefore not quoted; IGJ pages on prescribing also could not be opened. Treat the position as 'not published in a cannabis-specific form'.

Source: Opiumwetbesluit, wetten.overheid.nl BWBR0014405 · read 27 September 2026

Any Dutch pharmacy (or dispensing GP) can order BMC cannabis and dispense it on prescription; cannabis oil comes from a small number of compounding pharmacies named by BMC.

BMC supplies 'apotheken' and 'apotheekhoudende artsen' domestically; supply abroad requires an authorisation from the receiving country. Oil is prepared as a magistral preparation by Transvaal Apotheek, Clinical Cannabis Care BV and Verenigde Apotheken Limburg. Rules on home delivery or mail order of Opiumwet products by Dutch pharmacies were not addressed on the pages opened.

Source: BMC — Cannabisolie (patiënteninformatie) · read 27 September 2026

Medicinal cannabis is not covered by the basic health insurance; BMC states insurers do not reimburse it, and patients should check their own policy for any supplementary cover.

BMC patient brochure (2021): 'Medicinale cannabis wordt niet vergoed door zorgverzekeraars', with advice to check with the individual insurer. Zorginstituut Nederland's medicijnkosten.nl is the official price/reimbursement database but returned no readable entries for cannabis in this session; no more recent official reimbursement decision was found.

Source: BMC — Medicinale cannabis, informatiebrochure voor patiënten (PDF, 2021) · read 27 September 2026

BMC's published price is €35 per 5 g jar for all five varieties since 1 February 2026; the pharmacy adds its own dispensing fee, and oil prices are not published by BMC.

BMC: 'Met ingang van 1 februari 2026 zijn de prijzen gewijzigd naar €35 euro per 5 gram'; a previous price change took effect 1 January 2025. BMC notes that the price per gram may differ depending on the quantity the pharmacy dispenses. No official price for pharmacy-made oil was found.

Source: BMC — Producten (patiënteninformatie) · read 27 September 2026

The legal THC limit for drivers is 3.0 µg/L blood (1.0 µg/L when combined with alcohol or other drugs); the limits apply equally to prescribed medical use — there is no medical exemption.

Besluit alcohol, drugs en geneesmiddelen in het verkeer (Decree on alcohol, drugs and medicines in traffic), Stb. 2016, 529, art. 3: tetrahydrocannabinol 3.0 µg/L (single use), 1.0 µg/L (combined use), under art. 8 lid 5 Wegenverkeerswet 1994 (Road Traffic Act). The explanatory memorandum states the limits apply whether the substance was medically prescribed or not. Rijksoverheid: 'Ook voor andere drugs of medicinaal drugsgebruik geldt dat u niet mag rijden als u onder invloed bent.' Penalties include fines, licence suspension and, on a second conviction within 5 years, loss of the licence.

Source: Staatsblad 2016, 529 — Besluit alcohol, drugs en geneesmiddelen in het verkeer · read 27 September 2026

To travel within Schengen with medicinal cannabis you need a Schengen medicijnverklaring signed by your doctor and legalised by the CAK (send it about a week before departure); for non-Schengen countries CAK offers an English-language declaration, but the destination country decides.

BMC: 'Om op reis uw medicinale cannabis mee te kunnen nemen, heeft u een officiële verklaring nodig' and refers to the CAK. CAK procedure: fill in the Schengen medicijnverklaring, have the doctor sign it, upload it to CAK, which stamps and returns it by e-mail; 'stuur uw ingevulde en ondertekende verklaring bij voorkeur een week voor vertrek'. The Schengen certificate is the Art. 75 Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement certificate (valid for a maximum of 30 days per the Schengen certificate model). Rules for foreign travellers bringing cannabis INTO the Netherlands are not published on the BMC or CAK pages opened (see foreigners).

Source: CAK — Schengen medicijnverklaring invullen · read 27 September 2026

Nothing in the Opiumwet limits prescribing to residents, but you need a Dutch doctor's Opiumwet prescription dispensed by a Dutch pharmacy; whether a Dutch pharmacy may fill a foreign EU prescription for cannabis is not published officially, and the customs rule for bringing cannabis in is not published on the pages opened.

(1) Non-residents: the Opiumwet (art. 4–5), Opiumwetbesluit and BMC pages contain no residency or insurance condition; the practical gate is finding a Dutch doctor willing to prescribe and a pharmacy to dispense — not published beyond that. (2) Foreign EU/EEA prescriptions: the Geneesmiddelenwet art. 1 definition of 'recept' includes a document drawn up by 'een daartoe in een andere lidstaat bevoegde beroepsbeoefenaar', and Regeling Geneesmiddelenwet § 8 'Erkenning van recepten binnen de Europese Unie' (art. 6.14) transposes Directive 2011/24/EU Art. 11; the text of art. 6.14 could not be opened, so whether Opiumwet medicines are excluded under Art. 11(6) is 'not published' here. Directive Art. 11(6) allows Member States to exclude medicines subject to special medical prescription. (3) Bringing medicine in: Schengen residents carry the Art. 75 certificate from their home country; no Dutch customs/health page on import quantities for non-Schengen or non-EU travellers was opened — not published here. (4) Foreign telemedicine prescriptions: no official statement; follows from (2).

Source: Regeling Geneesmiddelenwet (Medicines Act Regulation) — table of contents showing § 8 Erkenning van recepten binnen de Europese Unie, art. 6.14 · read 27 September 2026

From 1 January 2026 a new Beleidsregel opiumontheffingen 2026 widens who may trade cannabis via BMC (supply side); patient prices changed to €35 per 5 g on 1 February 2026. No pending change to prescribing or reimbursement was found.

BMC news 21.11.2025: the Beleidsregel opiumontheffingen 2026 (Policy rule on Opium Act exemptions 2026), Staatscourant 2025-39447 of 11 November 2025, in force 1 January 2026, 'verruimt de mogelijkheden om te handelen met cannabis nog verder', building on the September 2024 'regime 2' allowing cannabis transactions via BMC. BMC also renewed product labels on 18 July 2025. Effects on patient access are not described by BMC.

Source: BMC — Nieuwe Beleidsregel Opiumontheffing 2026 gepubliceerd (21.11.2025) · read 27 September 2026

No official patient count or annual volume was found on BMC, ministry or Zorginstituut pages opened.

BMC's press and news pages carry no patient statistics or supply volumes; Zorginstituut's medicijnkosten.nl returned no readable cannabis entries. Industry statistics (e.g. pharmacy data foundations) are not official and are not used here.

Source: BMC — Pers · read 27 September 2026