United Kingdom: medical cannabis on prescription since 2018

Since November 1, 2018, cannabis-based products for medicinal use can be prescribed in the United Kingdom. The change came with a 2018 regulation that moved these products to Schedule 2 of controlled substances, the schedule for those with recognized medical use. When the product does not have a medicine license, only doctors on the General Medical Council's Specialist Register can prescribe it.

What happened

The British government announced the change on October 11, 2018, when it laid before Parliament the regulation known as the Misuse of Drugs (Amendments) (Cannabis and Licence Fees) Regulations 2018, valid for England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland adopted an equivalent rule on the same date.

The decision was preceded by a review by the government's Chief Medical Officer, Sally Davies, and by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. The backdrop was the cases of children with severe epilepsy whose families could not obtain legal access to cannabis oils, which led the government to grant exceptional licenses that year.

According to coverage by The Pharmaceutical Journal, the main points were:

• cannabis products for medicinal use moved to Schedule 2, the schedule for substances with recognized therapeutic use;
• the rule did not limit the conditions for which cannabis can be prescribed;
• unlicensed products can only be prescribed by doctors on the Specialist Register;
• products that obtain a license from the medicines regulator follow the rules of any other Schedule 2 medicine.

Recreational use remained prohibited.

Why it matters

The British model shows a way to open the door without throwing it wide open. Instead of listing diseases, the United Kingdom entrusted the decision to the specialist, case by case, and kept unlicensed products as the exception. It is a rule that demands knowledge, responsibility and a willingness to deal with evidence still under construction from the doctor.

This design also explains the criticism. Opening the possibility of prescription did not guarantee broad access: with the decision concentrated in specialists and few licensed products, most patients still depended on finding the right professional. It is a tension similar to the one Brazil lives with today, where the product exists but few doctors prescribe it.

For Brazil, the British case is a useful reference at a time when Anvisa is broadening access to products with more THC. There, as here, a more open rule does not replace the central question: what the evidence shows for that patient.

In Bairo's view

Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez chose London to register Xperienc, and the United Kingdom enters his story for that reason as well. In his reading, the British model has a virtue that matches the way he thinks about cannabis: the decision rests with those who know, the specialist, and the rule demands responsibility from those who prescribe.

For Bairo, the lesson of the recent British years is that access depends on knowledge circulating. If the right specialist is in another country, another city or another language, the rule alone does not reach the patient. It is from this gap, between the rule that permits and the knowledge that is missing, that Xperienc's proposal is born.

Where this meets the ecosystem

Xperienc Global Labs is Xperienc Global Labs Ltd, registered at Companies House under number 17030182 in February 2026, whose registered activities include experimental research and development in biotechnology. Bairo is founder and director. Xperienc's proposal is to bring together laboratories, teleconsultation with a clinical assistant validated by a professional and the Global Language translator, so that patient and specialist can each speak in their own language, as a second clinical opinion, not a medical report.

The clinical partner in Brazil is Hospital Granja Julieta, a separate company, in São Paulo.

The state of the science on cannabis is in The plant and the science. Each country's rules are different; for your case, the rule of the place where you are treated and your doctor's guidance apply.

Sources

• legislation.gov.uk, The Misuse of Drugs (Amendments) (Cannabis and Licence Fees) (England, Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/1055: legislation.gov.uk
• The Pharmaceutical Journal, "Medical cannabis will be available on prescription from 1 November 2018, UK government announces", 10/11/2018: pharmaceutical-journal.com
• Department of Health (Northern Ireland), "Cannabis based medicinal products available in NI today", 11/01/2018: health-ni.gov.uk
• Companies House, Xperienc Global Labs Ltd (17030182): company-information.service.gov.uk

Read also

• Colombia, exporter of medical cannabis
• United States: cannabis heading to federal Schedule III
• What Xperienc Global Labs is