Founder of World’s Oldest Licensed Medical Cannabis Cultivator to Speak at Cannabis Health Frankfurt

Tjalling Erkelens founded Dutch medical cannabis producer Bedrocan, which has supplied the Netherlands’ government-run medicinal cannabis programme since 2003.

Now chairman of the company’s board, the former chief executive will join healthcare professionals, researchers, industry and patient advocates at a medical cannabis conference in Frankfurt on 4 November.

His appearance at the Cannabis Health Symposium comes amid continued changes to Germany’s medical cannabis framework following major reforms introduced in 2024.

“This event brings together dedicated medical cannabis professionals on subjects that really matter: pharmaceutical quality, standardisation and appropriate regulation of cannabis as medicine,” Erkelens said.

More Than Two Decades in Medical Cannabis

Erkelens founded Bedrocan with Freerk Bruining in the Netherlands in 1984, initially working in indoor horticulture.

The company moved into medicinal cannabis after the Netherlands established a legal framework for its production and supply, and has supplied the country’s government-run medicinal cannabis programme since 2003, according to Bedrocan.

Bedrocan received Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification in 2017 and opened a second EU-GMP-certified production facility in Denmark last year.

GMP is the system used to ensure medicines and their ingredients are consistently produced and controlled to required quality standards.

Although Erkelens has since stepped down as chief executive, he remains chair of the board and continues to work with organisations focused on product and regulatory standards for medicinal cannabis.

Almost 20 Years in Germany

Erkelens also has a longstanding connection to Germany, where the Frankfurt edition of the Cannabis Health Symposium will take place on 4 November.

Bedrocan says it first exported medicinal cannabis from the Netherlands to Germany in 2008, before the country introduced its current medical cannabis framework.

The company says it has since supplied more than 15,000kg of medicinal cannabis to German patients.

Speaking earlier this year about the company’s first exports to Germany, Erkelens recalled that there were only a handful of legal cannabis producers operating globally at the time.

“In those years, there were two other legal sources worldwide,” he said, pointing to government-authorised production in the US and Canada alongside Bedrocan’s work for the Dutch government.

Germany’s medical cannabis market has changed considerably since then, particularly following the country’s cannabis reforms in April 2024.

Erkelens’ work has continued to focus on the pharmaceutical standards he believes should underpin that growing market.

Bedrocan says its aim is to support the development of cannabis-based medicines through standardised cannabis ingredients and to contribute to the harmonisation of quality standards internationally.

Erkelens has previously argued that cannabis should go through the same formal approval processes as other medicines.

“Cannabis can and should go through the drug approval process,” he said in an earlier statement published by Bedrocan, describing fully standardised medicinal cannabis as the “foundation” for achieving regulatory approval.

What to Expect in Frankfurt

The Cannabis Health Symposium Frankfurt will take place at Mainhaus on 4 November.

The event will bring together healthcare professionals, researchers, industry and patient advocates for a day of evidence-led discussion around Germany’s medical cannabis sector.

The programme will cover regulation, patient access and prescribing, alongside clinical evidence and the role of cannabinoids in areas including chronic pain.

Secure Your Place

The Cannabis Health Symposium Frankfurt takes place at Mainhaus on 4 November 2026.

Find out more and book tickets for the Cannabis Health Symposium Frankfurt