The UK legalised medical cannabis in 2018. Since then some 60,000 Brits have gone through private clinics to obtain cannabis as a treatment for their various conditions. Medical cannabis is certifiably improving lives across the country, and more research is ongoing into its efficacy as a treatment in various fields. But what about the general public’s attitude? The police? The NHS?

This article will explore the intricacies of attitudes towards medical cannabis in Great Britain, from all the major stakeholders. Including the above groups but also commercial interests, wider global trends and the impact of the black market. This, is what the UK thinks about medical cannabis. 

Legalisation Spreads Around the World

After nearly 50 years of prohibition, the USA was the first major world power to consider legalising medical cannabis. Which is an interesting reversal considering US propaganda against Mexican marijuana smokers was one of the biggest drivers of prohibition in the first place.

Anyway, when various US states began legalising medical cannabis in the late 90s and early 2000s, the rest of the world soon took notice. 

Since the spread of legal weed across the US and Canada, there has also been an explosion in the number of medical cannabis strains. Clinicians today can point you in the direction of specific varieties of cannabis flower that are tailored towards certain medical needs. For example, some strains have higher concentrations of psychoactive THC. Others have higher CBD, a non-psychoactive but still potentially potent medical cannabinoid, and others are more balanced. 

By the mid 2010s, the evidence for medical weed’s efficacy, and calls for the UK to change its stance on the topic, were piling up. Prestigious universities, including a large group of researchers from Oxford University, called on the government to soften laws for research purposes – if not full medical legalisation. 

2018 Was a Turning Point in Attitudes 

In 2018, the Government relented to pressure from various advocacy groups and legalised medical cannabis flower. A major case in point was that of Hannah Deacon and her son Alfie Dingley. Young Alfie had incurable and severe epilepsy, and Deacon found that only medical cannabis oil reduced his symptoms without damaging short term side effects. She campaigned tirelessly for legalisation of medical cannabis for her son, which was achieved in 2018. 

The NHS is now allowed to prescribe cannabis-based medicines for various kinds of incurable epilepsy, as well as chemotherapy patients. Thousands of people have benefitted since, although – more on this later – the NHS is still reticent to prescribe it all but a minority of cases. 

Since the Government concluded there is conclusive evidence of the therapeutic benefits of cannabis much more research has been done into the topic. 

One such field of medical research was into cannabis for crps, or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Although cannabis is not a cure all medication by any means, more and more evidence is showing cannabis is useful in managing chronic pain of various kinds. Clinicians across the UK prescribe cannabis for CRPS and other chronic pain causing conditions more than any other reason – could it help you too? 

The NHS is Still Lagging Behind 

Today, there are some 60,000 medical cannabis patients in the UK – and growing. Care Quality Commission says that 177,000 private cannabis prescriptions were made in the UK between 2022 and 2023. Meanwhile between 2018 and 2024, there were a total of 24,000 cannabis prescriptions from the NHS.

So, why the huge disparity? Well, mostly it is to do with The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or NICE. 

Despite the evidence for cannabis as a medicine in many fields, NICE has steadfastly refused to recommend NHS doctors prescribe it and limited what it can be prescribed for to a strict list. As of 2025 NICE limits cannabis-based medical prescriptions from NHS clinics to: 

• Severe spasticity
• Intractable nausea
• Severe treatment resistant epilepsy 

In fact, the most commonly prescribed for condition at private medical cannabis clinics – chronic pain – is explicitly not recommended by NICE for NHS doctors.

However, surveys of both the public and NHS doctors have shown consistent and strong support for wider access to medical cannabis. Sometimes in the 80% to 90% range. 

What Will the Future Hold?

Outside of the law, current patients and doctors – there is a huge potential market in the UK remaining untapped. 

Medical cannabis prices are relatively high in the UK, compared to markets like Germany where a glut of supply has knocked prices down significantly. This has kept a significant chunk of potential patients out of the market and unable to access legal treatment.

It is estimated that there are around a million black market cannabis users in the UK. It is almost certain a significant percentage of these people are illegally self medicating. If laws can relaxed – as the wider public has polled it wants – there will be an uptick in the number medical weed patients. 

Commercial appetite is also there. The UK is one of the biggest growers and exporters of medical weed in the world. But a huge majority of the supply is currently locked in to being exported for cannabis based medicine production rather than providing flower directly to patients. 

The public even (just about) supports full recreational legalisation. Which led, interestingly, to a massive rise in medical patient numbers in Germany. But, it is unlikely to happen in the UK anytime soon.