“Families are fundraising to keep their children alive.”
That was the stark message delivered at Cannabis Europa in London, where leading voices in health, politics and patient advocacy gathered to ask why, nearly seven years after the legalisation of medical cannabis in the UK, NHS access remains almost non-existent.
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Speaking during a panel hosted by ex-health minister Steve Brine and former Liberal Democrat politician Dr. Sarah Wollaston, the conversation centered on one central question: Will the UK ever see cannabis readily and easily available via the NHS?
Panellists, including Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Medical Cannabis and Medcan Family Foundation CEO Matt Hughes, voiced deep frustration over the continued lack of NHS prescriptions.
Despite legalisation in 2018, patients, particularly children with severe epilepsy, are still forced to rely on costly private prescriptions or public fundraising efforts, often at immense financial and emotional cost to their families.
“Families are paying thousands of pounds a month to keep their children seizure-free. It’s not sustainable, and it’s not fair,” said Antoniazzi.
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By GlobalData“We’ve been working on this for over eight years and yet, families still can’t get NHS prescriptions. The trials underway are necessary, but they’re slow and not always designed in ways that reflect real-world use.”
Lack of evidence
Dr Diego Quattrone, a professor of psychiatry at King’s College London, explained the reluctance of many NHS doctors to prescribe cannabis, citing a lack of robust clinical trial data. “There is no mental health condition for which cannabis is a first-line treatment,” explained Quattrone. “We must be cautious and transparent about the evidence and the risks.”
He also noted concerns about the potential psychiatric effects of high-THC products, particularly in young people, and the legal and professional risks associated with prescribing unlicensed medicines.
However, Hughes argued that rigid clinical trial structures do not reflect how cannabis medicines work in practice.
“It’s a personalised medicine,” he said. “Standardised clinical trials don’t allow for the tailored THC-CBD ratios that make the treatment effective for conditions like intractable epilepsy.”
The panel pointed to deep-rooted systemic issues: outdated NHS guidelines, fear among prescribers, and a siloed approach across departments and regulators. Brine and Wollaston acknowledged that the 2018 legal change which moved cannabis-based products to Schedule 2 had not translated into real-world access.
“The NHS is still not engaging,” said Brine. “The original intention was clear, but implementation has fallen short.”
Improving education within the NHS and the wider medical community was highlighted as crucial step toward expanding access.
“There’s still confusion between recreational cannabis and medical use,” said Antoniazzi. “That stigma filters into prescribing decisions. Doctors are afraid of liability when prescribing an unlicensed product.”
Brine, who pushed for medical cannabis reform during his time in government, stressed the need for relentless political pressure. He warned that change will only come through sustained pressure from patients, campaigners, clinicians, and parliamentarians.
“This is a health issue. A compassion issue,” said Brine. “And change doesn’t happen unless people demand it. Nothing changes without constant push. Parliamentary questions, debates, lobbying, it’s how we got this far. But we need to go further.”
Call for UK-led research and policy reform
A central recommendation from the panel was the creation of a UK-based, government-backed research centre for medical cannabis. This would allow for larger, independent clinical trials and help build the evidence base needed to support NHS adoption.
“We need a dedicated UK research center and government-backed funding similar to models in the Netherlands to truly push this forward,” said Antoniazzi.
The conference also heard calls for coordinated leadership from the Department of Health, Home Office, and NICE to align on efforts and treat cannabis as a serious part of the life sciences and health innovation agenda, rather than a recreational taboo.
Wollaston closed with a clear call to action: “It’s time to get serious. We need to put rocket boosters under the research – and compassion into the policymaking.”
