Italy Faces a Shortage of Medical Cannabis Following the Bankruptcy of Its Main Supplier

Italy could face worsening shortages of medical cannabis following the Bedrocan's bankruptcy, one of its main suppliers. This situation highlights the vulnerabilities of a system that relies heavily on imports, while domestic production remains insufficient to meet patients’ needs.

With demand estimated at more than two metric tons per year and local production, which covers only a small portion of it, the the disappearance of this major player in the European market has cast new uncertainty over the supply to Italian pharmacies and the continuity of treatment.

Italy's Dependence on Dutch Imports

The bankruptcy of Bedrocan Netherlands and Bedrocan International, which was handed down in early October, follows several months of financial difficulties stemming from changes to the Dutch regulatory framework for medical cannabis.

For more than two decades, the Office for Medicinal Cannabis (BMC) The Dutch government purchased large quantities of Bedrocan's product, distributing them to pharmacies and exporting them to other European countries, including Italy.

The Dutch authorities terminated their supply contract in January as part of a broader reform aimed at liberalizing the medical cannabis market. The proposed system would eventually allow private producers to sell directly to pharmacies and international buyers.

According to the Dutch Minister of Health, Sophie Hermans, the reform will not take effect until July 2028. This transition has deprived Bedrocan of its main institutional client and the revenue needed to maintain its operations in the Netherlands.

For Italy, where Dutch imports account for a substantial portion of its supply of pharmaceutical cannabis, the consequences could be significant.

Italy's production of medical cannabis falls far short of demand

Italy authorizes the cannabis for medical purposes for about two decades, but its national agricultural system remains highly centralized. The’Florence Military Pharmaceutical Chemical Plant (SCFM), placed under the authority of the Department of Defense, remains the country's only certified domestic grower. Its production capacity falls well short of domestic demand, and it is regularly criticized for its poor quality.

According to figures from the Italian Ministry of Health, pharmacies received approximately 1,695 kilograms of medical cannabis in 2024, including just over 200 kilograms were produced domestically.

In addition, the’International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) estimated Italy's need for medical cannabis at 2.4 metric tons by 2025, and is therefore largely dependent on international producers.

This situation also affects patients who are prescribed cannabis-based medications for conditions such as chronic pain, the symptoms associated with the multiple sclerosis and chemotherapy-induced nausea.

Medical cannabis is generally dispensed in the form of pharmaceutical preparations—including oils, decoctions, and products intended for vaporization—as part of a regulated pharmaceutical system.

Nearly 100,000 prescriptions

According to the’Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), approximately 100,000 medical cannabis prescriptions were recorded between 2019 and 2024. The institute also believes that this figure is an underestimate.

The supply disruptions This raises concerns about the continuity of treatment for patients who rely on prescribed cannabis-based products.

Patient advocacy groups, including Meglio Legale and the’Luca Coscioni Association, have repeatedly called for the establishment of a more independent domestic production system in order to reduce Italy's vulnerability to international supply disruptions.

Can Italy develop its own medical cannabis industry?

Although Italian regulations theoretically allow private companies to grow medical marijuana, commercial production has not yet managed to become a significant alternative to the military facility in Florence.

In 2022, the The authorities issued a call for bids aimed at involving private operators in cultivation, with the production intended for the SCFM. Six companies were initially selected, but the initiative did not result in any progress. Successive Italian governments have therefore continued to rely on imported cannabis rather than substantially expanding domestic production capacity.

The financial collapse of the Dutch supplier has once again drawn attention to this strategy.

In the absence of additional production capacity or diversified import agreements, Italy's supply of medical cannabis remains vulnerable to disruptions beyond its borders, raising questions about the country's ability to reliably meet patients' pharmaceutical needs.