Verifying a patient is quite sensitive, especially if not correctly advised.
If you are an employer or security to a premises, please obtain consent from the individual in question for them to provide any medical documents and this must be reviewed by a suitable qualified occupational health professional. Click here for further information on employment.
If the Police are to verify a patient they will need to follow the steps shown here:
Patient Can Present:
- Medical Cannabis in its original packaging/container complete with the pharmacy dispensing label.
- Letter from the prescribing clinician or a copy of the FP10 Prescription if dispensing label is not suitable.
- Recognised form of photo ID (Passport, Driving License or ‘PASS’ photo ID card).
Information for patients
Clinical letters can be obtained from your patient portal or by contacting your prescribing clinic for a copy.
FP10 Prescription can be obtained from your dispensing pharmacy by contacting the pharmacy, some pharmacies can supply a copy with every repeat.
It is highly recommended that documents are printed and kept alongside your medical cannabis prescription.
If you have any further questions regarding the proof required, please contact your prescribing clinic for advice.
Additionally patients can posses and continue to treat themselves with prescriptions held past 28 days of the medication being dispensed. However, it is always recommended to dispose of expired medication.
Other forms of “Cannabis ID”, such as a CanCard, is not accepted by law as a form of identifying a medical cannabis prescription and could still land patients in trouble if they do not present the documents stated above.
"I would like to confirm that the Home Office and Department of Health and Social Care do not endorse the Cancard scheme, or any other third-party scheme that seeks to legitimise the possession of illicitly obtained controlled drugs. There are already sufficient means for an individual who is lawfully in possession of a CBPM to demonstrate legitimate medical use. This includes proof of a prescription and ID, or furnishing the dispensing label attached to the medicine. Anyone who cannot furnish this information and claims to be using cannabis ‘medicinally’, without a lawful prescription for CBPMs through the relevant supply route, is breaking the law. Any patients who have concerns about the correct way to identify themselves as a patient with a legal prescription for medicinal cannabis, may also wish to review the guidance published on the Gov.uk entitled ‘Bringing medicine containing a controlled drug into the UK’. This states that patients travelling with a medicine containing a controlled drug will require a letter of proof from the prescriber."
"As the response from The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) indicates, the Government does not endorse the use of Cancard, or any similar scheme that purports to legitimise the possession and supply of cannabis from illegitimate sources. Cancard does not provide authority to possess cannabis."