All Bedrocan cannabis products that are produced in the Netherlands are gamma-irradiated by an external irradiation firm. The products that are being cultivated in the Danish facility have undertaken an electron beam sterilization, also executed by an external firm. Both methods sterilises the cannabis and give it a longer shelf life. In the Netherlands the irradiation is done on behalf of the Office of Medicinal Cannabis, in Denmark on behalf of Bedrocan.

Cannabis naturally contains a number of micro-organisms that can cause dangerous infections in people with a poor state of health. Irradiation with gamma rays or e-beams destroy these micro-organisms, such as bacteria and fungi.

Irradiation does not adversely affect the quality of the product or people’s health. Nor is the product made radioactive, as is sometimes thought.

Does irradiation make cannabis carcinogenic?

Irradiating does not make cannabis carcinogenic. Carcinogens are only caused in very small quantities when food containing a lot of fat, such as meat and eggs, is irradiated. Cannabis does not contain any fat, and this process therefore does not occur.

How is Bedrocan’s cannabis irradiated?

The irradiation is done in a type of bunker with walls of 2.5 to 3 meters thick concrete, where the products are irradiated. Sterilisation, as the process is euphemistically called, is done 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is fully automated. Read more >>