Is medical cannabis legal in the UK?

Medical cannabis is legal in the UK when a specialist doctor prescribes it for you. Buying cannabis without a prescription is still a criminal offence. This guide explains the difference, and what the law means day to day.

What changed on 1 November 2018

On 1 November 2018 the Government moved cannabis-based products for medicinal use out of Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 and into Schedule 2. Schedule 1 is for substances with no recognised medical use; Schedule 2 is where medicines such as morphine sit. That single change made lawful prescribing possible for the first time.

Before that date, a doctor needed a Home Office licence and sign-off from an expert panel. Afterwards, neither was required — the decision moved to the prescribing specialist. Announcing the change, the Home Secretary was explicit that it "does not pave the way towards legalising cannabis for recreational use", and that penalties for unauthorised supply and possession were unchanged.

The change applies across the whole United Kingdom: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What the law counts as "medical cannabis"

The legal term is a cannabis-based product for medicinal use in humans, usually shortened to CBPM. Regulation 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 sets a three-part test. A product qualifies only if it:

1. contains cannabis, cannabis resin, cannabinol or a cannabinol derivative (dronabinol and its stereoisomers are excluded);
2. is produced for medicinal use in humans; and
3. is a medicinal product, or an ingredient of one.

A product that fails any part of that test is not a CBPM — which is why a high-street CBD oil, a hemp supplement or anything bought from a dealer is a different thing in law, however it is described.

Licensed and unlicensed medicines

Three cannabis-based medicines hold a UK marketing authorisation (a "licence"): a purified cannabidiol liquid for two rare, severe forms of childhood epilepsy; nabiximols for muscle spasticity in multiple sclerosis; and nabilone for sickness caused by chemotherapy. Almost everything else prescribed in the UK is an unlicensed medicine.

"Unlicensed" does not mean illegal or untested for quality. It means the manufacturer has not put that specific product through the full MHRA licensing process for a specific medical use, so the regulator has not assessed its safety and effectiveness for that use. UK law has always allowed a doctor to prescribe an unlicensed medicine where they judge a patient has a genuine clinical need that licensed medicines cannot meet — but doing so places more responsibility on the prescriber, and it is one of the main reasons prescribing sits with specialists.

Who can legally prescribe it

Only a doctor on the General Medical Council's Specialist Register may start a prescription for medical cannabis. GPs, nurses, pharmacists and non-specialist doctors cannot initiate one.

NICE guidance adds that the initiating prescriber should be a specialist with expertise in the condition being treated, and that for children the initiating prescriber should be a tertiary paediatric specialist. Once treatment is established, responsibility can in principle pass to another prescriber under a written shared care agreement, with the specialist retaining oversight.

In practice, prescribing happens in two places: a small number of NHS specialist services, and CQC-registered private clinics. Both are bound by the same prescribing law. See Can I get medical cannabis for myself in the UK? for how the two routes differ.

What is still illegal

Cannabis remains a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The 2018 change created a lawful medical route; it did not decriminalise anything else.

• Buying cannabis without a prescription — still a possession offence, whatever your medical situation.
• Growing your own — still production of a controlled drug, one of the more seriously punished offences.
• Sharing or selling your prescribed medicine — supply of a controlled drug. Your prescription covers you, and nobody else.
• Driving while impaired — an offence regardless of any prescription.
• Importing it by post — bringing cannabis into the UK without the correct licences is an importation offence, even if you hold a prescription from another country.

Carrying your medicine and being stopped by police

If you are prescribed medical cannabis you may lawfully possess and carry it. Because the medicine looks and smells like illicit cannabis, patients are advised to keep it in its original, labelled pharmacy packaging and to carry proof of the prescription.

Useful things to have with you: the dispensing label with your name on it, a copy of the prescription or the pharmacy dispensing note, and a letter from your clinic confirming you are under its care. Police guidance issued in January 2026 encourages officers to treat prescription-holding patients as patients first, but officers can only act on the evidence in front of them — documentation is what resolves a stop quickly.

Driving: two separate offences

There are two drug-driving offences in England and Wales, and a prescription only helps with one of them.

Two practical points patients often miss. First, the medical defence is a defence — it is raised and established after you have been stopped and tested, not instead of being stopped. Second, THC can remain detectable well after any subjective effect has worn off, so a blood reading above the limit says nothing on its own about whether you were safe to drive. Talk to your clinician about your own medicine, dose and timing, never drive if you feel impaired, and tell the DVLA about any condition or treatment that may affect your fitness to drive.

Travelling with prescribed cannabis

You can travel within the UK with your medicine. Taking it abroad is a different question, and the answer is often no.

• Inside the UK: carry it in the pharmacy packaging with your prescription documentation. No licence is needed.
• Leaving or entering the UK with more than three months' supply: you need a personal import/export licence from the Home Office Drugs and Firearms Licensing Unit, applied for at least ten days before travel.
• Under three months' supply: no UK licence is required, but you should carry a signed letter from your prescriber listing each medicine, its dose, strength and quantity.
• The destination country's law is what decides: several countries that permit medical cannabis domestically still prohibit bringing it in. Check with the embassy or consulate of every country you enter, including any you only transit through.

Legal, but not automatic

Legality answers only the first question. Whether medical cannabis is right for you is a separate, clinical question, and the honest answer is that it depends on your condition, your history and the specialist's judgement.

NHS prescribing remains very rare and is largely confined to the three licensed medicines and their narrow indications. Most UK patients who are prescribed cannabis-based medicines are treated privately, and pay for consultations and medication themselves. NICE has not been able to recommend cannabis-based medicines for chronic pain outside a clinical trial, and the evidence base varies widely from condition to condition. We set that out plainly in Can medical cannabis treat my condition?

Patient guide · Written by the Flora House editorial team · Last reviewed: 8 September 2026