Belgium could host the first medical cannabis plantation

Belgium's Limburg region could be the cradle of the first medical cannabis plantation, even though access to medical cannabis is highly restricted in the Low Countries, with patients having to turn to their Dutch neighbors for pharmacy supplies.

Rendocan would like to produce 5 tonnes of cannabis per year in Kinrooi, not far from the Dutch border. For the project to become a reality, the current Belgian legal framework needs to be adapted. The Belgian Ministry of Health is currently studying the feasibility of Rendocan's proposals.

Rendocan would set up the first legal plantation of medical cannabis in Europe on a 15-hectare site. The company is primarily targeting the German market, and also intends to develop a research center in collaboration with Hasselt University.

«We see ourselves as a biotech company, and to create added value, we're going to develop new seeds,» explains Rendocan CFO Steven Peters.

From the Ministry of Health's point of view, this is a time for reflection. «There are still a number of Gordian knots to be worked out, and we prefer not to say more at the moment.»

Rendocan is now waiting for the law to be amended. The company has already drawn up plans for its research center and cultivation area, and applied for the necessary licenses. Steven Peters confirms, «The day we get the green light to go ahead, we'll break ground.»