While medicinal cannabis can be legally prescribed in the Netherlands since September 1st 2003, the majority of the patients prefer to acquire their medicine through homegrow and the coffeeshop. Why that is, we explore in this article.
The data on medicinal cannabis in the Netherlands
According to data supplied by the Trimbos Institute in 2023, 130,000 patients use cannabis for medicinal purposes in the Netherlands. Of these, fewer than 7,000 are prescribed cannabis by a doctor. Most therefore purchase their cannabis from other sources, such as coffeeshops or by growing it themselves.
That’s just 5,38% of Dutch patients who get their cannabis from the pharmacy. That means 94,62% of patients do not.
To put it in perspective: the country has about 1,1 million cannabis consumers, according to data from the 2025 Nationale Drug Monitor. The Netherlands has just over 18 million inhabitants.
Growing cannabis at home in the Netherlands is not without risk
While it’s a common misconception that cannabis is legal in the Netherlands and legal to grow for yourself, in reality it is not.
Since 1976, the Netherlands has legally distinguished between soft drugs (cannabis) and hard drugs (including heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy). Cannabis has been decriminalized: it is still prohibited, but in specific cases, no penalty is imposed. Regarding cannabis cultivation, the website Overheid.nl is clear:
"The cultivation of cannabis plants is prohibited. With a maximum of 5 plants for personal use, the police will only confiscate the plants. With more than 5 plants, the police can prosecute the grower."
This isn't the whole story. A more stringent Opium Act Directive has been in effect since January 1, 2013. Regarding home cannabis cultivation, the "list of indicators relating to the degree of professionalism" in the appendix to this Directive is relevant. If you score two or more times on this list, the police and the judiciary consider you a professional grower, regardless of the number of plants you grow. The Guidelines literally state:
"If, regardless of the number of plants, two or more of the points listed in the list of indicators relating to the degree of professionalism, as included in Appendix 1, are met, it is assumed that the conduct is professional or commercial."
The list of indications can be found here.
If cultivation is deemed "for financial gain," meaning for sale, prosecution for professional or commercial cultivation will also follow, again regardless of the number of plants. The same applies to any form of home cultivation by minors.
Housing association, mayors and zero tolerance
Aside from criminal prosecution, home growers living in social housing risk eviction if any form of cannabis cultivation is discovered. Almost every rental agreement includes a clause reserving this very far-reaching right for the housing association.
Thanks to the Damocles Act, Article 13B of the Opium Act, mayors can also close homes where cannabis plants have been found, without the intervention of a judge or public prosecutor. In practice, mayors apply a standard of five plants or fifty grams of dried cannabis. In the province of Zeeland, for example, the discovery of more than five grams of cannabis is sufficient to close a home or any other building for a maximum of two years.
Social and scientific criticism of evictions based on a small number of cannabis plants is increasing, but for now, many mayors and housing associations are pursuing a so-called "zero tolerance" approach, regardless of the suffering they cause.
There is one exception: HIV patient Rudolf Hillebrand is since 2016 allowed to grow his own medicinal cannabis.
Dutch patients still prefer to grow at home over the pharmacy
Knowing all this, a huge majority of the Dutch patients clearly still prefers to accept the risks of growing cannabis at home over acquiring cannabis from the pharmacy.
Which also says a lot about the failing Dutch healthcare system, which as of writing still has a monopoly on the growing of medicinal cannabis. Only one company, Bedrocan, is allowed to grow cannabis to be sold to the Bureau of Medicinal Cannabis which then supplies the pharmacies.
One of their flagship strains is Bedrocan®, a gamma-irradiated medical cannabis flower with 22% THC, which is in fact their stabilized version of the strain Jack Herer (you can read more about it in this PDF where they admit this).
We actually offer a Suzy's Confidential , Jack Herer Auto, but also a Critical Jack and Critical Jack Auto, which you can order and grow yourself and are not gamma-irradiated. Gamma-irradiation is a sterilization technique often used on medicinal cannabis to meet strict pharmaceutical safety standards, primarily by eliminating microbial contaminants like mold, bacteria, and fungi. This process is deemed necessary because cannabis, as an agricultural product, is susceptible to contamination, which can be particularly harmful to immunocompromised patients.
While it eliminates microbial contaminants like mold, bacteria, and fungi, it has also been shown to cause a slight reduction in the levels of some terpenes, particularly the more volatile ones (like myrcene, cis-ocimene, and terpinolene).
Some patients report that irradiated cannabis has a less potent smell, a different taste, or a drier texture, which is often attributed to this minor terpene loss and potentially a slight decrease in moisture content.
You can see and understand why patients in the Netherlands, who are not immunocompromised, prefer to grow their own medicinal cannabis.
Medicinal cannabis in the European Union
You can get medicinal cannabis prescribed in the European Union in several countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium (although limited), Italy, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Denmark and through a pilot in France (which was extended for 2026). Recently, Spain also joined the list in October 2025 albeit very limited.
There were approximately 342.000 cannabis patients in the European Union in 2022, according to a report. This was before Germany legalised cannabis and saw the number of prescriptions skyrocket. There are now between 500.000 and 600.000 self-paying medicinal cannabis patients in Germany alone in 2025.
Sadly, growing anywhere for medicinal reasons is not legal in the European Union.
Closest to this comes the city of Tilburg in the Netherlands, which has (temporarily) established clear rules for patients who want to grow cannabis at home to meet their medicinal needs, provided they have a medical certificate and meet safety requirements. However, this is an exception and not national law.
It is however legal to grow for recreational use in Malta, Luxemburg, Germany and from January 1st 2026 also in the Czech republic. Whether you actually use it for recreation or as medicine, is of course up to you.
