Following the publication of the London Drugs Commission’s report, which recommended decriminalisation of the possession of small quantities last month, a debate has been raging about the current state and potential future of cannabis regulation in the country.
Ahead of Cannabis Europa 2025 (taking place in London on June 24-25), where the recommendations of this report will be a key topic of discussion by the world’s leading regulatory experts, Prohibition Partners has written a whitepaper delving into the current state of cannabis in the UK.
Below is a preview from ‘UK Medical Cannabis 2025: Market Growth, Challenges, and the Path Forward’, which will be available exclusively to Cannabis Europa delegates during the event. Tickets are selling fast, make sure you secure your place before time runs out.
As the UK’s medical cannabis industry continues to advance rapidly, its future trajectory is becoming increasingly clear—revealing both significant opportunities and key challenges ahead.
Growth in the number of clinics, prescribers, patients, and producers will eventually generate more mainstream dialogue about the cannabis market and industry in the country.
However, no major party has put cannabis reform on the political agenda, and it is unlikely that the current Labour government would implement any far-reaching reform without a mandate. With the next general election currently scheduled for 2029, significant reform is likely to be years away.
Potential reform
Though large-scale reform does not currently appear forthcoming, there are small-scale, more targeted measures that could feasibly be taken by UK authorities in the coming years which would be positive for the medical cannabis industry.
The easing of the regulatory burden associated with imports, for example, would facilitate easier and cheaper imports, allowing for lower costs and more reliable supply.
The provision of adequate resources and training for doctors wanting to engage in medical cannabis treatment would also be a positive step from health authorities, allowing them to take a more active role in shaping treatment practice and outcomes.
‘Britain must decriminalise cannabis – or remain in the dark ages’
“Criminalising drugs ruins lives and wastes police resources. Other countries realise this – when will UK politicians wake up?”https://t.co/umDJZWa1AS by @simonjenkins4
— LEAP UK (@UKLEAP) June 9, 2025
Potential threats
The main threat to the industry as it currently functions is a possible backlash against the private clinic and telemedicine ecosystem in UK medical cannabis.
Scandals around the practices of some operators in the Australian medical cannabis system (which bears many similarities to the UK one) have negatively affected the perceived credibility of medical cannabis there.
These practices include unusually fast consultations within clinics, reports of payments by producers to clinics per prescription of their product (as had previously been an issue in Canada), and reports of inappropriate online marketing of medical cannabis treatment to attract new patients. Meanwhile, in Poland, a clampdown on the role of telemedicine in medical cannabis in early 2025 sharply reduced prescription numbers.
Under current conditions, the UK medical cannabis market should continue to see steady growth in the coming years. There remains significant untapped patient demand, and as patient awareness of medical cannabis as a legal treatment option grows, so too will patient numbers.
New imports and domestic production continue to enter the market, both in product format variety, and in the range of products available within those format categories. Product and consultation costs continue to decline, making treatment more affordable. These factors further increase patient access to medical cannabis treatment.
The current stable growth in the UK is positive for the industry. A sudden rapid expansion could result in (or from) looser business practices, and a loss of legitimacy for the role of cannabis in medicine in the eyes of the public and the medical community. If this can be avoided, and the industry can be scaled up in a responsible and credible manner, then the argument for further meaningful regulatory development will grow in parallel.
This preview from the upcoming ‘UK Medical Cannabis 2025: Market Growth, Challenges, and the Path Forward’ whitepaper was written by Prohibition Partners Analyst Lawrence Purkiss.
