Words by Dr Sue Clenton, Medical Director, Releaf
If we are serious about the future of medical cannabis in the UK, we must be equally serious about its clinical foundations. That means investing not just in science or access, but in a new generation of confident, well-informed prescribers.
Despite the legality and growing evidence base of medical cannabis, uptake among eligible prescribers remains strikingly low — only around 150 doctors out of 40,000 on the GMC specialist register. This isn’t a matter of policy or paperwork. It’s cultural. Clinicians are wary — not of the medicine itself, but of the perceptions it carries.
While the awareness and acceptance of medical cannabis is growing among the general public, the stigma remains strong among medical professionals. For many doctors, prescribing cannabis feels like stepping outside of the professional fold. There’s a silent concern: ‘What will my peers think? Will this affect my standing, my opportunities, even my friendships within the NHS?’
These aren’t abstract worries. They’re real and felt. When I first began working in this space, I kept quiet about it. I wasn’t embarrassed, I was uncertain of how it would be received. By the time I left the NHS, I was open and proud, but it took time to get there. At my leaving party, the room was decorated in green leaves. That shift from secrecy to celebration is what we need at scale.
Dr Sue Clenton, Medical Director, Releaf
Why training must start early
This is not just a case of changing minds. It’s a case of filling in the gaps of what was never there in the first place.
We now understand the endocannabinoid system as fundamental to human biology — yet it’s barely covered in UK medical schools. This knowledge gap leaves many clinicians unprepared and unconvinced.
Cannabis-based medicines should be included at the undergraduate level, just like antibiotics or antidepressants. The earlier clinicians are exposed to the science and therapeutic uses of cannabis, the more likely they are to consider it a viable, evidence-based option.
Training must also be:
- Accessible — easily available online or in-person, without convoluted barriers.
- Free or funded — clinicians should not be out of pocket for doing the right thing.
- Accredited — recognised and respected across the NHS and wider medical bodies.
Right now, most doctors who join Releaf’s clinical team do so because a patient changed their perspective. It’s reactive. But it shouldn’t take a revelatory moment in the clinic to spark interest. We need structured routes into this work, not accidents of experience.
Lifting the fog of stigma
In Releaf’s own recruitment, we’ve heard the same story again and again. Doctors are curious but cautious. Some are quietly interested, watching from the sidelines. Others have had their eyes opened by a single case, often involving pain, palliative care or neurodiverse patients. And yet, institutional hesitancy persists, even among charities and advocacy groups who support trials of cannabis-based treatments.
We recently approached a major brain tumour charity to explore the potential of a collaboration. They were funding a clinical trial on cannabis-based medicines, yet didn’t know that they were already legal for prescription in the UK. That gap between research and reality is a huge missed opportunity for patients.
The real tragedy is that patients are already ahead of the professionals. Many are desperate, having tried all other available options to manage their symptoms. But clinicians, even with the best intentions, remain hesitant, unsure how to step forward, and this cannot continue.
A call to action
To bring medical cannabis prescribing up to clinical standards that can withstand scrutiny — from regulators, from peers, from patients — we need to normalise it. That starts with education, continues with open discussion, and ends with full clinical acceptance.
If we are serious about evidence-based medicine, we must be serious about medical cannabis. For those of us who have already taken that leap, that means educating without apology, prescribing without fear and leading without shame.
Prescribing cannabis should not be a risk to one’s professional reputation. It should be a mark of good, compassionate, evidence-based care.
The post From Stigma to Standard: The Urgent Case for Medical Cannabis Reform in the UK appeared first on Cannabis Health News.
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Author: Opinion editor
