The number of patients being prescribed medical cannabis in the UK will surge past 140,000 by the end of the year, as imports of the medicine and the range of products available to patients both doubled in 2025, according to a new report from global cannabis industry analysts Prohibition Partners.
The UK Medical Cannabis Market Update 2026 reveals that 30,061 kilograms of medical cannabis were imported into the UK in 2025, more than double the 14,992 kilograms imported the year before. At the same time, the number of cannabis-based medicines available to UK patients leapt from 374 to 818 — also more than doubling — as competition between suppliers intensified and prices fell.
The findings will raise fresh questions about the rapid, largely unregulated growth of the UK’s medical cannabis sector, which operates almost entirely outside the NHS through a network of more than 40 private online clinics.
Canada Now Supplies the Majority of UK’s Medical Cannabis
Canadian exports to the UK rocketed by 562% in a single year, from 2.58 tonnes in 2024 to 17.07 tonnes in 2025. Prohibition Partners estimates Canada now supplies between 70% and 80% of all medical cannabis entering the UK, once cannabis re-routed through other countries such as Portugal is taken into account. Spain, which supplied more than half of the UK’s medical cannabis as recently as 2023, has seen its share collapse to just 11%.
More Than 140,000 Patients — and Rising Fast
Prohibition Partners estimates more than 140,000 people in the UK will be prescribed medical cannabis in 2026, up from around 100,000 just a year earlier — almost all of them accessing treatment through private teleclinics rather than the NHS.
Prices Falling as the Market Floods With New Products
The report finds that competition between suppliers has driven prices down across every type of medical cannabis product. The average price of medical cannabis flower — the most widely prescribed format — fell from £7.10 to £6.80 per gram over the past year, while vape prices fell by a quarter.
Regulators Circling as Private Clinics Dominate Access
Patient access to medical cannabis in the UK is delivered almost entirely through private-pay online clinics rather than the NHS, with just eight platforms accounting for an estimated 80% of all prescriptions issued. Health regulators including the Care Quality Commission have already raised concerns about oversight and prescribing practices at some clinics, and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is expected to formally review the sector in 2026 or 2027.
Alexander Khourdaji, Senior Analyst, Prohibition Partners and author of the UK Medical Cannabis Market Update 2026, said: “This is no longer a niche, fringe market. In the space of two years, the UK has become one of the fastest-growing medical cannabis markets anywhere in the world, and most people have no idea it’s happening on this scale. Canada is now supplying the vast majority of the cannabis being prescribed to UK patients, and the number of people accessing treatment is growing faster than almost anyone expected.”
The post UK Medical Cannabis Patient Numbers Set to Reach 140,000 in 2026, Industry Report Finds appeared first on Cannabis Health News.
Go to Source
Author: News Editor
