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The Legal Position on Cannabis for Medical Use in the UK
Cannabis remains a controlled drug in the UK, but the law provides a legal route for patients who have been prescribed certain cannabis-based medicines.
Since 1 November 2018, specialist doctors on the General Medical Council specialist register have been able to prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use where clinically appropriate.
However, having a medical condition does not automatically give someone the legal right to possess cannabis. The important question is whether the cannabis is a legally prescribed medicinal cannabis product.
Can a patient be arrested for possessing prescribed medical cannabis?
If someone is lawfully possessing their prescribed cannabis-based medicine and can demonstrate that it has been legally prescribed to them, their possession is not the same as unlawful possession of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Police may nevertheless investigate the circumstances if they believe the cannabis is illegal, has been obtained unlawfully, or is being supplied to another person. A medical condition alone is not a defence that automatically prevents arrest.
The Crown Prosecution Service specifically recognises that some people possess small amounts of cannabis because they believe it helps alleviate a medical condition. Evidence that cannabis is being used to alleviate symptoms of a chronic medical condition can be a mitigating factor when prosecutors consider whether prosecution is in the public interest. This does not mean that unprescribed cannabis becomes legal.
What about ordinary cannabis bought or grown personally?
A person cannot legally grow cannabis at home simply because they have a medical condition. Government guidance states that cultivation of cannabis remains an offence under section 6 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, regardless of THC content, unless the relevant licensing requirements are met.
Likewise, buying cannabis from an illegal source does not become lawful simply because the purchaser intends to use it for medical reasons.
What should a prescribed patient do?
A patient legally prescribed medicinal cannabis should keep the medicine in its original pharmacy packaging and retain evidence of the prescription. This can help demonstrate that the product is lawfully possessed.
Patients should also follow the prescription and medical instructions. For example, the Government’s guidance states that smoking cannabis and cannabis-based medicinal products remains prohibited.
There are also separate rules concerning driving. A person taking a prescribed medicine can still face legal consequences if they drive while impaired.
The key legal point
Having a medical condition does not, on its own, make personal cannabis possession legal in the UK.
The legal protection comes from possessing a lawfully prescribed cannabis-based medicinal product, rather than simply having a condition and possessing cannabis.
Anyone facing arrest, seizure of medicine or a criminal investigation should obtain advice from a qualified criminal defence solicitor because the circumstances of each case can be different.
Attached is a news article on having cannabis as a medical were you can not get arrested for have it
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn8n9lyv1xzo
Article written and configured by Christopher Stanley
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