Large legal cannabis farms in the Netherlands are told to reduce facility or risk closures after more than 2,000 complaints from hundreds of residents, according to the Dutch Environmental Agency.
If the farm cannot adequately limit the smell, Canadeller (the company that runs the farm) could face up to 3.5 million euros ($4.1 million) or risk of closures, local authorities said after a court ruling earlier this week.
The farm is located west of Rotterdam, the second largest city in the Netherlands. The DCMR Environmental Protection Agency, which monitors the business on behalf of the municipality of Voorne Aan Zee, where the farm is located, opened in 2023 as part of a government scheme that allows several companies to grow cannabis under strict conditions.
DCMR said in a statement that “odorant nuisance” was received shortly after the farm was opened, which was first released in December but revised Wednesday.
“By August 2025, DCMR had received around 2,000 reports from around 300 different residents,” the agency said. The Rotterdam Judicial Court said in a statement Wednesday that more than 2,000 complaints had been filed.
According to DCMR, the company has previously committed to implementing “odor mitigation measures” to tackle the issue.
According to DCMR, inspectors observed “odor nuisance” during multiple inspections and concluded that the company was not complying with appropriate regulations. As a result, the Voorne Aan Zee municipality has imposed customized regulations on farms to reduce odor, DCMR said.
On Wednesday, a preliminary relief judge determined that the regulations could remain in effect, according to DCMR, and gave the company to “take measures or stop operations.”
“The judge emphasized that it is undesirable that odor nuisance will continue. He pointed out that odor nuisance has been extremely serious since 2023,” DCMR said.
“He also doubts whether the measures proposed by Canadelaar itself will provide sufficient improvements in the short term,” DCMR said of the judge’s comments.
Our directors are confident they will meet the requirements, Dutch public broadcaster Nos said Wednesday without naming him.
“We’ve been installing air filters since the beginning of the moon,” he told Nos.
Canadelaar is the largest legal cannabis producer in the Netherlands and operates a greenhouse complex that is seven football pitch sized, Nos reported.
CNN contacted Canadelaar for comment.
