Tag: holland

Several developments are underway that indicate that despite multiple ball drops, the Dutch government is committing to regulating the recreational cannabis industry – and that has huge European-wide implications.

For those who have been wondering, there is beginning to be a little clarity if not light on the evolving situation in Holland on the matter of a federal regulatory infrastructure if not policy to regulate the coffee shops.

Here is the first development. The tender bid in Holland has been almost as much of a disaster if not lawsuit strewn as the German version (to regulate medical). That said, there seems to be forward progress here too. After Aurora got fined for filing a frivolous lawsuit, it appears that the top contenders have been selected (after one dropped out).

This is not the end of the story, however. The situation is still as hazy as day-old bong smoke – namely, while the federal government will have oversight of the ten vendors selected and their supply chains, this still leaves out any and all of the industry operating in the largest cities.

That dichotomy too, however, is on the cards to change as well. Indeed, on June 2, members of the Dutch Parliament are meeting to discuss how the federal government will set cannabis policy for the country. Presumably, in other words, finally a federal move to consolidate the entire national industry.

This is a major, major development, no matter who has thrown shade at the process so far.

It is a frank admission, finally, among other things, that federal governments must get in front of, rather than lag behind on all things cannabis policy related. And at this point, even in Europe, that also includes the recreational discussion.

Why A Medical Reference Point Is So Important Going Forward

All of these things being said, the reality is that the development of the formal, medical market in Europe means that there is some basis in science for what then is used in any recreational market (from Holland and Luxembourg to Switzerland and beyond).

And in Europe, generally, that discussion has only just gotten started.

For example, in Switzerland, as the country begins to gear up for its recreational trial next year, the reference data on allowances for users has clearly come from the Canadian medical market (not the German one). The German one, by contrast, is currently half of the recommendations of the Canadian government (not to mention Israeli patient data).

This means, in other words, that an evolving if blended rec-medical market is going to move the needle here in the EU in a very different way – and have a lasting impact first on not the recreational but indeed, the medical market.

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Just when you thought that Europe was about to just lie down and give in to Brussels (on anything, but including all things cannabis), here comes the rear guard.

Organizing on both a regional and even country basis is hot stuff these days. Starting in, you guessed it, Holland.

The Legal Cannabis Coalition (or LCC) is a newish organization that is also pretty straightforward in its organizing mission. A dozen Dutch horticultural companies who have participated in a joint study to optimize greenhouse cultivation of medicinal cannabis, organized by the Wageningen University and Research (WURR) over the past several years, has (unsurprisingly) decided to formalize its association, with the goal of helping the industry grow.

The Netherlands is known for its agricultural product (Tulips anyone, beyond cannabis?). Much of that product, no matter what it is, is also grown in greenhouses. As a result, Dutch horticulture is not dominated by a few big firms, but many hundreds of much smaller businesses, who specialize in one or two products.

Members of the LCC have been active in setting up licensed cannabis producers in North America (see Canada in particular) but also other places around the world.
The LCC’s aim is to become a one-stop-shop destination for a wide variety of industry challenges. This ranges from setting up compliant greenhouses to increasing plant productivity.

The Dutch Do It Better?

There are few who can really compete with the Dutch right now, certainly in terms of longevity in providing medical cannabis product to countries globally. Bedrocan, a staple of the medical industry in several countries (including of course Germany) is a powerhouse in its own right.

But beyond this of course, the Dutch have pioneered a legal cannabis industry, even if it is still grey market-ish, that is widely admired and still not fully implemented anywhere else in the world. Namely, in the still nebulous areas if not red-light districts of an industry, the Dutch model of “coffee shops” and sources of horticulture to supply the same, has been not only a model and beacon of “canna freedom” for the past generation but also a model still widely not even on the regulatory cards anywhere.

For the latest updates on what is going down and who is doing what in Europe, be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conferences’s online Virtual Global Cannabis Symposium on June 9.