News

Canadian cannabis company part of Dutch ‘Wietexperiment’

Published on January 30, 2026 by Pat Bulmer

Photo: Contributed

A Canadian cannabis company has parachuted into the middle of a large cannabis pilot project in the Netherlands.

Toronto-based Cronos Group has bought CanAdelaar, described as “Europe’s largest adult-use cannabis company.” CanAdelaar is one of 10 companies supplying cannabis for a four-year adult-use pilot project.

“Under the Wietexperiment, all 72 coffee shops (cannabis retailers) in the ten participating municipalities… are required to source their cannabis products exclusively from one of 10 licensed producers (including CanAdelaar),” a Cronos news release explained.

“We are excited to work with the Dutch government, regulators, coffee shops, adult consumers and all stakeholders to make the Wietexperiment a continued success,” said Cronos CEO Mike Gorenstein.

“Under the purchase agreement, the shares of CanAdelaar will be acquired for up-front consideration of €57.5 million, or US$67 million,” Cronos said.

“European expansion is an important area of focus for us,” added Gorenstein.

Village Farms, which has operations in Canada, the United States and the Netherlands, is also expanding its Dutch presence.

“Village Farms’ expanding product portfolio in the Netherlands underscores the company’s ability to innovate within tightly regulated environments while remaining highly responsive to consumer needs,” the company claimed in a news release announcing the launch of 10 new products.

Also beyond Canada, Ontario-based MediPharm Labs announced its has signed a supply agreement with Remidose Aerosols to ship medicinal cannabis products to Costa Rica. Costa Rica’s medical cannabis market officially opened to regulated sales in June. Under the agreement, MediPharm Labs will supply a range of products, including oils, tinctures, metered dose inhalers and dried flower.

BC-based e-tailer Herbal Dispatch is exporting 298 kilograms of medical cannabis to Portugal for distribution in Germany.

“This marks the company’s inaugural shipment of medical cannabis to this European Union Good Manufacturing Practices (EU-GMP) licensed processor in Portugal. The company anticipates multiple follow-on exports to this partner in the coming quarters. Following EU-GMP compliant processing in Portugal, the product is destined for Germany,” Herbal Dispatch said on its website.

And Tilray is launching a new medical cannabis arm in Italy.

“Tilray Medical Italia operates within Italy’s established medical cannabis framework, supplying products authorized by the Ministry of Health and distributed through hospital and pharmacy channels in accordance with national regulations,” the Canadian-American company said in a news release. The company has a partnership with Molteni Farmaceutici, one of Italy’s leading pharmaceutical companies.

Tilray offers three flower and six oil products, the company said.