Policy history
The UK medical cannabis legalisation timeline
The UK did not legalise cannabis generally in November 2018. It created a tightly controlled prescription route for defined cannabis-based products for medicinal use.
June 2018 — urgent review.
The Home Secretary launched a two-part review following prominent patient-access cases. The first part considered medicinal and therapeutic evidence; the second asked the ACMD to advise on scheduling and controls.
July 2018 — rescheduling recommended.
The ACMD recommended that cannabis-derived medicinal products meeting appropriate standards should be placed in Schedule 2 so clinicians could prescribe them under controlled circumstances.
21 September 2018 — the product definition announced.
Government set out the category the change would cover and confirmed specialist doctors would be the prescribers. It also stated that recreational use was not being legalised and smoking would remain prohibited.
1 November 2018 — the law changed.
The 2018 Regulations moved qualifying CBPMs to Schedule 2 and created a prescription route through doctors on the GMC Specialist Register without an individual Home Office patient licence. Products outside the definition remained subject to the existing stricter controls.
What did not change.
Cannabis remained Class B. Unauthorised possession, supply and cultivation remained offences. Rescheduling did not guarantee NHS access, create a right to treatment or turn all cannabis/CBD products into medicines.
2025–2028 — formal review continues.
The Home Office commissioned the ACMD to revisit whether the legislation achieved its intended impact as part of its 2025–2028 work programme. That review is a policy process, not itself a change in current law.
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