Can Your GP Prescribe Medical Cannabis in the UK?

Can Your GP Prescribe Medical Cannabis in the UK?

The short answer is no. General practitioners in the UK cannot prescribe medical cannabis. The law requires that cannabis-based medicines are prescribed only by doctors on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council. This means consultants and specialists, not GPs.

This is why private clinics exist. They employ specialist doctors who are legally authorised to issue cannabis prescriptions. The largest of these is Releaf at releaf.co.uk, with over 50 specialist doctors, 25,000-plus active patients, and 181,000-plus prescriptions shipped. Their 4.7 Trustpilot score from nearly 7,000 reviews reflects broad patient satisfaction.

Your GP can, however, play a supporting role. They can provide your medical records to the prescribing clinic, they can note on your records that you are receiving a medical cannabis prescription, and they can continue managing your other treatments alongside the cannabis prescription. Some GPs are more supportive than others, but their cooperation is helpful rather than essential.

The private clinic route works like this. You book a consultation with a specialist at a clinic like Releaf for 99 pounds, fully refundable if you are ineligible. The doctor assesses your condition and treatment history. If appropriate, they prescribe cannabis-based medicines and medication is delivered to your home. No GP involvement is required at any stage.

The NHS technically can prescribe medical cannabis through hospital specialists, but this happens extremely rarely and usually only for specific conditions like severe epilepsy or chemotherapy-induced nausea. For the vast majority of conditions, including chronic pain, anxiety, PTSD, and insomnia, the private clinic route is the only realistic option.

Other private clinics include Alternaleaf (4.5 Trustpilot, 4,421 reviews), Curaleaf Clinic (4.3, 2,501 reviews), and Mamedica (4.7, 1,636 reviews). Releaf's scale, comprehensive Releaf+ subscription with Irwin Mitchell legal protection, and international expansion to Germany make it the most established choice in the UK market.