Christelle Kelley and Sunil Arora - What we know now : Five Years of Medical Cannabis in the UK

Medical cannabis in the UK has faced a complex landscape of regulatory and access hurdles since its 2018 policy change, evolving from a strictly limited clinical option to a specialized private sector market. While thousands of patients now hold prescriptions, the transition has been hindered by inconsistent access, high costs, and a lack of standardized clinical procedures. Patients often navigate significant administrative barriers when attempting to obtain funding or ensure continuity of care within an infrastructure that still struggles to integrate cannabis into mainstream practice. Clinicians often manage multifaceted patient cases that require careful titration and ongoing multidisciplinary coordination. The session highlights how, even with established licensing, systemic issues like professional stigma and the requirement for patients to demonstrate failed conventional treatments first can limit equitable access.