New Patient Guide

1. Eligibility & Conditions

Legal cannabis medical usage is here to stay in the UK, with a wide range of conditions treated using THC and CBD. Currently, these treatments are prescribed solely through private clinics.

• Patients typically require a history of having tried two other medications to treat their condition before being considered for medical cannabis.
• Your chosen clinic will request access to your NHS medical records/history to verify this.
• There is no legal age limit, but clinics are generally reluctant to prescribe to those under 25 without extreme justification.
• Cannabis can only be prescribed to those under the age of 18 by a paediatric specialist.
• You will not be penalised by a clinic for past illicit usage or self-medication.

Conditions range from physical ailments to mental health issues. Example qualifying conditions include:

2. Accessing Your Medical Records

Medical records are typically held by your local GP surgery. To apply to a clinic, you must obtain a Summary of Care record outlining your medical history.

• You can request this by ringing your practice, emailing, or requesting it in-person from a receptionist.
• A Summary of Care should document your previous diagnoses, operations, and previously prescribed medications.
• Alternatively, you can file a Subject Access Request (SAR), though this takes up to 30 days to process.
• International patients from the USA, Australia, Canada, or the EU must request a full medical history outline from their Primary Care Practitioner.
• Short-term travellers staying in the UK for under 3 months are unlikely to be accepted by clinics.

3. Applying to a Clinic

Most clinics offer video consultations, making access available wherever you are in the UK, including the Scottish Highlands and Northern Ireland. Patients on the Isle of Man can use mainland clinics, while Jersey and Guernsey have dedicated clinics.

• Step 1: Choose from the available clinics.
• Step 2: Fill out their online registration form and give permission to obtain and access your medical records.
• Step 3: You will receive a preliminary acceptance or rejection typically within a few days, after which you can book and pay for an appointment with a specialist.
• Step 4: Attend a telemedicine call lasting 15 to 60 minutes to confirm your identity, discuss your medical history, and review past cannabis usage.
• Step 5: During the appointment, your specialist will discuss your suitability, suggest dosages, and confirm your pharmacy preferences.
• Step 6: If you are not immediately accepted on the call, the clinic will contact you typically within a week.

4. Your First Prescription

Once your consultation is complete, your case must be approved by a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT). Patients typically wait 2-7 days for this approval. Note that Wales requires two specialists to sign off on starting treatment.

• You will receive a sign-up email from your chosen pharmacy requiring an ID check and online payment.
• The pharmacy legally must wait for a physical paper copy of your prescription to arrive before dispensing your medication.
• Tracking details will be sent via email once your medication is dispatched by standard courier.
• We recommend requesting a digital copy of your prescription from your clinic to ensure validity if queried by law enforcement.

5. Maintaining Your Prescription

Once you have received your medication, your clinic may call you to check on your progress.

• It is strongly recommended to book your follow-up appointment or request a repeat prescription 3 weeks after receiving your first delivery.
• Some clinics mandate a second-month follow-up consultation, while others are willing to let patients move straight to repeats.
• You will need to book at least quarterly consultations with your clinic between periods of repeats.
• Repeat prescriptions can often be requested via a form, email, phone, or a dedicated patient portal.
• While you can often change quantities on repeat prescriptions, drastic changes to your medication require a formal, paid medical consultation.
• Consultations generally require payment upfront when booking, or an invoice will be issued on the day.

6. Transferring Clinics

Patients often feel the need to change clinics to access a wider range of available products. The process is straightforward:

• Consult available clinics; some offer discounted initial consultations for switching.
• Request a copy of your previous consultation notes and prescriptions from your old clinic, alongside a new Summary of Care from your GP.
• Your new clinician may be willing to consider previously tried medications for future repeats.
• You will still require MDT approval before your new prescription can be sent out.
• You may require a follow-up consultation in your second month after switching.
• No clinic currently accepts patients cared for by other clinics at the same time.

7. NHS Access

Very few Cannabis-Based Products for Medicinal Use (CBPMs) are available via NHS prescription. Currently, only private medical cannabis clinics can offer access to CBPMs otherwise listed on our platform.

The specific treatments currently accessible via the NHS are highly restricted:

• Sativex (THC & CBD Spray): Treatment for moderate to severe spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis patients.
• Epidiolex (CBD Isolate Oil): Treatment for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut & Dravet Syndromes in paediatric patients.
• Nabilone (Synthetic THC): Add-on treatment for intractable nausea/vomiting for Chemotherapy patients.
• In January 2023, the first private prescription was reimbursed via the NHS, though no other patients are known to have been reimbursed successfully to-date.