The short answer is 1 November 2018. On that date, defined cannabis-based products for medicinal use became Schedule 2 controlled drugs, creating a legal specialist-prescribing route across the UK. It is more precise to say these products became prescribable than to say cannabis as a whole was legalised: other cannabis remained controlled, and the change did not create retail sales or general possession rights.
Key takeaways
- England, Wales and Scotland made the change through amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
- Northern Ireland introduced a parallel Schedule 2 route under its own 2002 Regulations on the same date.
- The change applied only to products meeting the legal CBPM definition; it did not decriminalise cannabis generally.
- Initial supply of an unlicensed CBPM must be under the prescription or direction of a doctor on the GMC Specialist Register, working within their competence.
- NICE guidance published in November 2019 shaped clinical and NHS decisions, but it did not replace the 2018 law or create a complete statutory list of diagnoses.
- A prescription never permits impaired driving, sharing, unlicensed import, home cultivation or supply to another person.
The route to 1 November 2018
The legal change followed reviews by the Chief Medical Officer for England and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. The Government then defined a cannabis-based product for medicinal use in humans and moved products meeting that definition to Schedule 2. Schedule 2 status recognises a controlled medical route; it does not mean the product is uncontrolled or automatically licensed as a medicine.
The Great Britain circular covers England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland’s Department of Health brought equivalent amendments into force under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002. The practical headline date is therefore the same across all four nations, even though the legislative instruments differ.
What the change allowed
The rescheduling allowed an appropriately authorised clinician to consider a CBPM where clinically appropriate. For an unlicensed CBPM, the GMC says supply must be under the prescription or direction of a doctor on its Specialist Register who is working within their area of practice and training. Initial decisions should generally involve appropriate peer review, and the prescriber remains responsible. Licensed cannabis-based medicines and continuing prescriptions under specialist direction have their own rules.
There is no legal list of conditions that automatically makes a patient suitable or unsuitable. The clinician must consider the individual’s unmet clinical need, evidence, previous and licensed options, risks and preferences. NICE NG144 provides product- and condition-specific recommendations for NHS and clinical practice; it is not a general licence for all products or a substitute for individual assessment.
What did not change
The 2018 rules did not:
- create cannabis shops or a patient-card retail system
- legalise possession without a valid authority such as a prescription
- permit home growing or informal supply for medical reasons
- require the NHS to commission every unlicensed CBPM
- permit smoking a cannabis-based product for medicinal use
- override controlled-drug travel, storage or pharmacy rules
- make impaired driving lawful.
NHS guidance says very few people in England are likely to receive an NHS prescription. NHS England says unlicensed CBPMs are not routinely commissioned and funding decisions are considered case by case. England-specific independent-sector data should not be turned into a complete UK patient statistic, so this page does not claim that a fixed proportion of UK patients use private care.
For today’s access route, read medical cannabis in the UK. The separate guide is medical cannabis legal in the UK? focuses on possession, proof and common legal misunderstandings. If you hold a prescription, ask the clinical team about travel or work and use current driving guidance; Great Britain and Northern Ireland have different road-traffic frameworks.
Read next
- Is medical cannabis legal in the UK?
- Medical cannabis in the UK
- NHS versus private medical cannabis prescriptions
Source trail
- GOV.UK: Rescheduling of cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans
- Northern Ireland Department of Health: CBPMs available from 1 November 2018
- Home Office: Cannabis, CBD and other cannabinoids licensing factsheet
- NHS: Medical cannabis
- NICE NG144: Cannabis-based medicinal products
- GMC: Information for doctors on cannabis-based products for medicinal use
- NHS England: Cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs)
- GOV.UK: Medical cannabis and road safety
