Can you get medical cannabis for endometriosis in the UK?

Endometriosis causes pain that is frequently dismissed and frequently undertreated, with an average diagnostic delay in the UK measured in years. That history matters here: people arrive at private consultations having already been let down, and they deserve accuracy rather than enthusiasm.

Is endometriosis treated with medical cannabis in the UK?

Endometriosis-related pain is assessed by private specialists, usually where pain persists despite hormonal treatment, surgery, or both. It is not an NHS treatment for endometriosis and nothing is licensed for it.

The distinction to keep hold of is between the disease and the pain. Endometriosis is managed by gynaecology through hormonal treatment, excision or ablation surgery, and fertility care where relevant — as set out in NICE guideline NG73. A cannabis-based medicine addresses none of that. It is considered only for pain, and only alongside continuing gynaecological care.

Endometriosis pain also frequently becomes centralised over time, behaving more like chronic pain than like pain from a single lesion. Where that has happened, the assessment looks much like the one for chronic pain.

What the evidence actually shows

There is no randomised controlled trial of cannabis-based medicines in endometriosis. The UK evidence is observational, recent, and reported by the researchers themselves as preliminary.

A longitudinal case series from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, followed 63 endometriosis patients prescribed cannabis-based medicinal products and reported improvements in pain-specific measures, quality of life, anxiety and sleep quality from baseline to 18 months, with over a quarter reducing prescription opioid use. Adverse events were reported by around a quarter of participants and were described as mild or moderate. The authors state plainly that causation cannot be inferred and that the findings are intended to support the design of randomised trials.

Eighteen months of follow-up in 63 self-selected patients is worth something. It is not evidence that the medicine caused the improvement.

What a specialist will want to see

There is no UK list of qualifying conditions, so nothing here entitles you to a prescription. A specialist works through your history and decides whether a monitored trial is justified for you. For endometriosis-related pain they will typically look at:

• Whether endometriosis has been confirmed, and how — imaging, laparoscopy, or clinical diagnosis
• What hormonal treatments you have tried, and what happened with each
• Whether you have had excision or ablation surgery, and whether further surgery is planned
• Whether your pain is cyclical, constant, or has become widespread and centralised
• Your fertility plans, and your contraception — treatment is not considered suitable in pregnancy
• Bladder, bowel and fatigue symptoms, which often travel with endometriosis and change the picture

The general requirements — age, a documented diagnosis, the convention that two standard treatments have been tried, and access to your medical records — are covered in What are the requirements?

Risks and reasons a specialist may say no

The most important caution is about pregnancy. Cannabis-based medicines are not considered suitable in pregnancy or breastfeeding, and a specialist will discuss reliable contraception with anyone who could become pregnant before prescribing.

Otherwise the profile is the familiar one: drowsiness, dizziness, dry mouth, impaired concentration, and driving impairment from THC-containing products. A personal or family history of psychosis, unstable mental illness or significant cardiovascular disease will normally count against treatment. And because pain relief can mask a change in the disease, continuing gynaecological review matters — new or worsening symptoms still need investigating.

If you want to take this further

The useful next step is a proper assessment, not a better list. Gather your diagnosis, the treatments you have already tried and what happened with each, and your current medicines — that is what a specialist needs in order to give you a straight answer.

The consultation itself, and what happens after it, is set out in What is the process to get a medical cannabis prescription? If endometriosis-related pain is not the only thing you are being treated for, say so early: other conditions and other medicines change the assessment.

Patient guide · Written by the Flora House editorial team · Last reviewed: 31 August 2026