The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is reviewing cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs). This is a rare opportunity for patients, carers, and healthcare professionals to tell the truth about what medical cannabis access looks like in the UK and what must change.
Since medical cannabis was legalised in 2018, patients were promised NHS access. But in reality, only a handful of NHS prescriptions have ever been issued. The vast majority of patients are left paying hundreds of pounds each month through private care or are pushed back to the black market. For people living with chronic pain, epilepsy, MS, Crohn’s, cancer and many other conditions, this is simply not good enough.
On top of these barriers, patients face stigma and discrimination every single day. Too many are treated as criminals for using their prescribed medicine in public. Many report being judged by healthcare professionals, employers, schools, or even friends and family. This stigma isolates patients, undermines their wellbeing, and prevents honest conversations about care.
At the same time, research into cannabis medicines remains underfunded and too narrowly focused. Many conditions are overlooked, and clinicians are left without the evidence base they need to feel confident prescribing. Without proper investment, patients will continue to fall through the cracks.
This review is a chance to highlight these failures and push for real change.
Make Patients’ Voices Impossible to Ignore
PatientsCann UK urges:
Patients: share how cannabis medicines have improved your health and quality of life, and the challenges you’ve faced with access, cost, or stigma.
Carers and families: explain the reality of supporting loved ones through this broken system.
Healthcare professionals: give your perspective on prescribing barriers and the urgent need for more evidence and funding.
Your input is vital to push for:
- Wider NHS access to cannabis medicines for a broader range of conditions.
- Funding for independent research that reflects real patient needs.
- An end to stigma and discrimination against patients who rely on cannabis medicines.
- A fairer system where patients aren’t forced into private care or criminalised for managing their health.
How to Respond
- Go to the ACMD’s “Cannabis-based products for medicinal use: Call for Evidence” page (https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/cannabis-based-products-for-medicinal-use).
- Complete the online questionnaire or email your responses to ACMD@homeoffice.gov.uk.
- Submit your evidence before the deadline: 11:59pm, 17 October 2025.
This is a rare chance to influence policy at the highest level. If we don’t speak up, patients will remain invisible. Together we can push for a system that finally delivers on the promise of safe, affordable, and compassionate access to medical cannabis.
Patients’ voices must lead this review. Please take part, share widely, and make sure we are heard.