This informal CPD article ‘Medical Cannabis: What UK Healthcare Professionals Need to Know’ was provided by PP Intelligence, an organisation with a vision for a legal cannabis industry where the abundant economic, societal and health benefits of the plant can be realised by people around the world.
Medical cannabis has been a subject of significant debate, clinical interest, and evolving legislation in recent years. Seven years on from its legalisation in the UK, questions remain among clinicians about access, evidence, training, and its place in mainstream healthcare. This article provides an overview of the current landscape for healthcare and medical professionals undertaking CPD.
UK Medical Cannabis Legislation
Medical cannabis was legalised in the UK on 1 November 2018, following the high-profile campaigns of patients and families of children with treatment-resistant epilepsy. The change in legislation saw an amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, enabling certain cannabis-based medicines to be legitimately prescribed by specialist doctors.¹
Under current regulations:
- Only specialist doctors listed on the General Medical Council (GMC) specialist register may initiate treatment with cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs).
- These specialists include neurologists, psychiatrists, pain specialists and other consultants working within their scope of expertise.
- GPs are currently not permitted to initiate these prescriptions, although they may play a role in ongoing shared care in certain circumstances.
Private vs NHS prescribing of CBPMs
Since legalisation, access through the NHS has remained extremely limited. Fewer than five NHS prescriptions for unlicensed CBPMs are reported to have been issued since 2018.² In the meantime, the number of private prescriptions for these products has risen significantly.
Data from the NHS Business Services Authority shows that over 300,000 private CBPM items were prescribed between April 2023 and April 2024, more than double that of the previous year.² Meanwhile the Care Quality Commission has noted a 130% year-on-year increase in private prescribing.³
Across the UK, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man:
- Approximately 40 private clinics now specialise in prescribing unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.
- Around 20 pharmacies dispense these products.
- An estimated 60,000 patients currently hold a private medical cannabis prescription, with indications including chronic pain, anxiety disorders, PTSD, autism, ADHD, and other long-term conditions.⁴
But where is the evidence?
A major barrier to wider NHS adoption is the lack of randomised controlled trials (RCTs), which are considered the gold standard for pharmaceutical evidence.
While more advanced clinical trials are needed to improve our understanding of the effects of CBPMs in these conditions, an expanding body of real-world evidence (RWE) and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) is highlighting significant benefits. This data is particularly valuable in areas where large-scale RCTs are difficult to conduct or where existing treatments are insufficient.
The UK itself has a growing body of real-world data, collected through a series of initiatives ⁵ ⁶. Data from around 5,000 patients linked cannabis to reduced symptoms and improvements in quality of life across a range of conditions, including anxiety, chronic pain and PTSD, as well as being linked to a ‘considerable reduction’ in the use of prescribed opioids among chronic pain patients.⁷
While RCT-level evidence remains limited for some conditions, RWE continues to play an increasingly important role in shaping clinical understanding and guiding prescribing practice internationally.
ECS is a physiological system
Understanding the role of the endocannabinoid system
Key to understanding how medical cannabis works is the endocannabinoid system (ECS). ⁸ The ECS is a physiological system that remains underrepresented in most UK medical curricula, yet plays a crucial role in regulating important bodily functions such as pain, mood, temperature and immune response.⁸
The core components of the ECS include:
- Endocannabinoids: primarily anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG)
- Cannabinoid receptors:
- CB1 receptors – abundant in the central nervous system
- CB2 receptors – concentrated in peripheral tissues and immune cells
Cannabinoids derived from the cannabis plant, such as THC and CBD, interact with these receptors in ways that research shows may help alleviate symptoms such as pain, insomnia, muscle spasticity, inflammation, and anxiety.⁹
Despite its importance, the ECS was only discovered by science in the early 1990s, by, and it is still not widely taught in medical schools today.¹⁰
Education and awareness among healthcare professionals
This lack of training has contributed to significant gaps in understanding and awareness of CBPMs among healthcare professionals. Of around 80,000 specialist doctors eligible to prescribe medical cannabis in the UK, only around 180 are believed to be doing so, and the vast majority work within private clinics.¹¹
Clinicians face challenges such as:
- Limited formal education on the ECS and cannabis-based medicines
- Absence of comprehensive NHS prescribing pathways
- Stigma and misconceptions among both colleagues and the public
- Lack of peer networks and consensus guidance from major medical bodies
With forecasts suggesting that the number of patients being prescribed CBPMs is only going to grow, the need for more trained, informed prescribers is becoming increasingly important to ensure patients receive the best standards of care.
The importance of CPD-certified training in medical cannabis
Continuing Professional Development remains essential for clinicians navigating emerging areas of medicine, such as CBPMs prescribing. This ensures up-to-date, evidence-based clinical practice, supports safe and informed prescribing, helps clinicians build confidence in new areas of expertise, and demonstrates commitment to ongoing professional standards.
In the context of medical cannabis, CPD-certified courses and events are crucial for addressing gaps in knowledge and confidence, providing healthcare professionals with:
- Foundational and advanced education on the ECS
- Current evidence around safety, efficacy, and pharmacology
- Case studies and prescribing considerations
- Legal, regulatory, and ethical frameworks
- Opportunities for peer learning and clinical discussion
Professional events in cannabis health are also bringing together expert-led presentations, practical workshops, and clinical case sessions that meet strict criteria for educational quality and relevance.
Seven years after legalisation, as the landscape of medical cannabis in the UK continues to evolve, CPD-certified education is central to equipping clinicians with the understanding, confidence, and professional competence needed to navigate this developing area of medicine.
We hope this article was helpful. For more information from PP Intelligence, please visit their CPD Member Directory page. Alternatively, you can go to the CPD Industry Hubs for more articles, courses and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development requirements.
References
1. UK Government Legislation. Misuse of Drugs (Amendments) (Cannabis and Licence Fees) Regulations 2018. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1055/contents/made
2. NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). FOI 02725: Private Prescriptions for CBPMs. https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02725
3. Care Quality Commission (CQC). Controlled Drugs Annual Report 2024. https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/controlled-drugs/2024/issues
4. Prohibition Partners. The European Cannabis Report: 10th Edition. https://prohibitionpartners.com/reports/the-european-cannabis-report-10th-edition/
5. Drug Science. Project Twenty21. https://www.drugscience.org.uk/t21
6. UK Medical Cannabis Patient Registry. https://ukmedicalcannabisregistry.com/
7. Feingold, D., et al. (2021). Cannabis for medical use: a cross-sectional study of patient outcomes. Psychopharmacology. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-021-05855-2
8. AjendoMed. The Science of the Endocannabinoid System. https://ajendomed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/The-Science-of-the-Endocannabinoid-System.pdf
9. Nielsen, S., et al. (2017). The Endocannabinoid System and Medical Cannabis in Pain and Inflammation. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5576607/pdf/can.2016.0009.pdf
10. Paiva, C., Santos, T., Cunha-Oliveira, A. Knowledge, opinions and experiences of nurses and nursing students in Portugal regarding the use of medical cannabis. BMC Nursing (2024). Available at: https://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12912-024-02443-5
11. Cannabis Health News. Thousands of UK patients left suffering as fewer than 1% of doctors trained to prescribe legal medical cannabis. https://cannabishealthnews.co.uk/2025/10/23/thousands-of-uk-patients-left-suffering-as-fewer-than-1-of-doctors-trained-to-prescribe-legal-medical-cannabis/
