The UK’s cannabis industry, one of the largest on the planet, sits at a crossroads. Does it choose the pharmaceutically focused, highly regulated route, or a more adult-use tinged approach with big brands, big names, and big growth?
These opposing philosophies have been a constant in the sector since its inception in 2018, driven in no small part by its exclusion from the mainstream healthcare system and its reliance on private, often profit-driven business models.
While the UK’s industry has enjoyed consistent and sustainable growth over the past seven years, helping it largely avoid focused Government scrutiny, this could soon change.
In June 2025, the Government commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the current evidence on cannabis-based products for medicinal (CBPMs) and consider whether the legislation has had the intended impact and any unintended consequences, including on clinical trials.
Furthermore, while no official statement has been made, numerous industry sources have alluded to a looming crackdown by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), apparently concerned by the industry’s importation of products intended for consumer markets.
With the medical establishment demanding more clinical research into cannabis before considering its integration into the NHS, a time-consuming and costly process, even clinics with a staunchly pharmaceutical philosophy are often forced to work with larger brands with an adult-use positioning to survive.
How big is the UK’s medical cannabis market today?
The size of the UK’s market is notoriously difficult to gauge, with patient numbers and data prevented from public disclosure due to the industry’s private framework.
Prohibition Partners recently launched Insights Hub, and the UK Medical Cannabis White Paper 2025 estimates that the industry is expected to surpass €269 million in sales in 2025, and now has an active patient base of approximately 50,000 – 60,000, with an estimated 80,000 individuals expected to receive treatment with medical cannabis throughout 2025.
One way of gauging the current size and growth of the UK’s market is by looking at import statistics. Business of Cannabis has received the latest available data on imports to the UK via an FOI request to the Home Office.
What is the UK Government’s attitude towards cannabis?
To garner some idea of how the relatively new Labour Government perceives cannabis, and how prominent it is in the political and societal zeitgeist, we have mapped the mentions of ‘cannabis’ and ‘medical cannabis’ in the Commons and the Lords both in the year before Labour’s election, and in the year to September 15, 2025.
Mentions of cannabis in the UK Parliament have increased notably since the change of government in 2024, rising from 34 in the final year of the Conservative administration to 57 over the last year under Labour.
Under the Conservatives, cannabis was referenced only occasionally and largely in the context of crime, antisocial behaviour, and youth health risks. Medical cannabis featured in just a handful of cases, typically raised in connection with individual patients facing barriers to NHS access.
By contrast, under Labour, the tone of debate has shifted. While crime and public order remain important themes, a growing share of parliamentary attention is now focused on medical cannabis and patient access, including a dedicated Westminster Hall debate in January 2025 that drew cross-party contributions.
This marks a clear broadening of the conversation: cannabis is moving from the political margins, where it was framed largely as a law-and-order problem, towards the mainstream of health policy discussion.
The Conservative Government's final year in office
The Labour Government over the last 12 months
