Questions to ask before choosing a medical cannabis clinic

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Choosing a medical cannabis clinic should be about care quality, governance and follow-up, not just who has the clearest website or the lowest-looking headline fee. A good patient question is not “which clinic will give me what I want?” It is “which service can assess me properly, explain the risks, handle records, monitor treatment, and be clear about costs and complaints?”

The right clinic for one patient may not be right for another. Conditions, previous treatments, medicines, risk factors, location, support needs, cost limits and follow-up needs all matter. This article gives questions to ask before booking or paying. It does not rank clinics, recommend a provider, promise suitability, or replace clinical advice.

For wider MCPH context, read access, prescribing and costs and clinics and care pathways.

The short answer

Before choosing a clinic, ask about:

registration and governance;
who reviews your records and whether the prescriber is an appropriate specialist;
what medical records they need, including your Summary Care Record where relevant;
how they assess risks, side effects, interactions and mental-health history;
how follow-up and monitoring work after any prescribing decision;
the full cost pattern, not just the first appointment;
the pharmacy and dispensing process;
complaints, corrections and what happens if care is not working for you.

If a clinic cannot explain those basics clearly, pause before paying.

Registration and governance

CQC guidance says services providing regulated activity such as treatment of disease, disorder or injury may need to register with CQC, and services prescribing cannabis-based medicinal products need to show safe and effective care. CQC guidance also says only doctors on the GMC Specialist Register can prescribe unlicensed cannabis-based medicinal products, and they must work within their competence.

Useful questions:

Are you registered with CQC, where required, and under what provider name?
Who is the responsible provider and where can I read your registration details?
Are prescribing decisions reviewed through a governance process or clinical board?
Are prescribers on the GMC Specialist Register and working within their area of practice?
How do you audit prescribing, side effects, complaints and follow-up?

This is not box-ticking. It helps you see whether the clinic behaves like a healthcare service.

Records and first assessment

A clinic should need enough information to make a safe decision. That usually means your diagnosis, previous treatments, current medicines, relevant risk factors and a record source such as a Summary Care Record from the GP surgery or specialist letters where needed.

Ask:

What records do you need before the first consultation?
Is a recent Summary Care Record enough for the first assessment if it shows the condition and previous treatments?
When would you need extra letters, hospital notes or specialist reports?
Who reviews the records before the appointment?
What happens if my records are incomplete?
How do you handle patients who have self-medicated with cannabis before?

The goal is not to build a huge dossier. It is to give the clinician enough reliable information to assess suitability.

Specialist review and clinical decision-making

The prescribing decision should sit with an appropriate clinician, not with a sales process. CQC guidance says the decision to prescribe is ultimately for the prescribing clinician and should be based on sufficient knowledge of the patient and their previous medical history.

Ask:

Who will I see, and what is their specialty?
Will the clinician understand my main condition and current medicines?
How do you decide when medical cannabis is not suitable?
How do you explain uncertainty in the evidence?
Will I receive written information about risks, side effects and what to report?
How are medicine changes clinically reviewed?

A clinic can listen to patient preferences and concerns. It should not make the process feel like choosing a product before assessment.

Monitoring, side effects and follow-up

Medical cannabis care should not end when a prescription is issued. NHS guidance says CBD and THC can affect how other medicines work, and CQC guidance expects prescribers to oversee follow-up and monitor effectiveness and side effects.

Ask:

How soon is follow-up after the first prescription decision?
What does follow-up cover beyond symptom scores?
Who do I contact about side effects, interactions or worrying changes?
How are mental-health history, driving, work safety and other risk factors monitored?
What happens if the medicine is not helping or side effects are difficult?
How do you involve my GP surgery or existing specialist team when needed?

This is where quality often becomes visible. A clinic should be clear about support between appointments, not just the booking process.

Fees and total cost

Costs can change, and a low first fee may not explain the full pathway. Ask for current fees in writing before you pay.

Ask:

What is the first consultation fee?
What are follow-up fees and how often are reviews normally needed?
Are there repeat prescription, admin, letter or record fees?
Are medicine, dispensing and delivery costs separate?
What happens financially if the clinician decides medical cannabis is not suitable?
What is the cancellation or refund policy?
How will I be told about price changes?

MCPH covers cost factors in medical cannabis costs in the UK. Confirm current figures directly with the clinic before booking.

Pharmacy and dispensing process

The clinic and pharmacy pathway should be clear before a prescription is issued. That does not mean the clinic can promise supply or delivery timing. It means you should understand who does what.

Ask:

Which pharmacy process do you use after a prescription is issued?
Who sends the prescription and who confirms it has been received?
Who sends invoices or payment links?
What happens if the prescribed medicine is unavailable?
Who contacts the prescriber if a supply issue needs clinical review?
How do I report a wrong label, damaged package, missing item or delivery problem?

For more detail, read how medical cannabis prescriptions are dispensed in the UK.

Complaints, corrections and leaving the clinic

Good clinics should make it clear how to raise concerns. That includes administrative errors, communication problems, record errors, side effects that were not handled well, billing disputes, or worries about the quality of care.

Ask:

What is your complaints process?
Who handles clinical concerns separately from billing or admin issues?
How quickly do you normally respond to complaints or record-correction requests?
How can I get copies of my records?
What happens if I want to transfer care or stop using the service?
How do you communicate with my GP surgery after a complaint, transfer or discharge?

If the clinic cannot explain how problems are handled, that is useful information before you become dependent on the service.

Red flags to pause on

Be cautious if a clinic:

implies a prescription is certain before proper assessment;
hides follow-up, repeat or admin costs;
does not explain who the prescriber is;
makes risk screening sound like a formality;
gives unclear answers about records or pharmacy process;
has no visible complaints route;
makes the whole pathway feel sales-led rather than care-led.

Patients are allowed to ask direct questions. A clear clinic should not make you feel awkward for doing so.

What this article is not saying

This article is not saying one clinic is best. It is not saying private care is automatically good or bad. It is not saying a clinic that answers these questions will decide you are suitable.

It is saying that clinic choice should be based on healthcare fundamentals: proper assessment, specialist review, records, risk screening, monitoring, transparent fees, pharmacy clarity, complaints and follow-up. If those basics are weak, the rest of the pathway becomes harder to trust.

Questions to ask before choosing a medical cannabis clinic