Conditions UK clinics assess for medical cannabis
Important: UK law does not restrict medical cannabis to a specific list of conditions. A GMC-registered specialist will assess your individual case. The conditions below represent the most commonly prescribed indications — if your condition is not listed, it may still qualify. This information is not medical advice.
Chronic Pain
The condition clinics are asked about most
Persistent pain lasting more than 3 months that has not responded adequately to conventional treatments including opioids, gabapentinoids, or NSAIDs.
PTSD
Common in veteran and trauma populations
Post-traumatic stress disorder involving flashbacks, hyperarousal, and sleep disturbance that has not fully responded to SSRI therapy or trauma-focused therapy.
Anxiety Disorders
Second most common mental health indication
Generalised anxiety, social anxiety, or panic disorder that persists despite two or more conventional pharmacological or psychological treatments.
Epilepsy
NHS funding available for rare childhood forms
Treatment-resistant epilepsy, including Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Epidyolex is NICE-approved and NHS-funded for these specific conditions.
Multiple Sclerosis
Sativex NHS-funded for qualifying MS patients
MS-related spasticity that has not responded adequately to other antispasticity medication. Sativex (nabiximols) is licensed and can be NHS-funded.
Fibromyalgia
Increasingly prescribed via private clinics
Widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and cognitive difficulties. Conventional treatments often provide limited relief, making patients strong candidates for assessment.
Neuropathic Pain
Common in diabetic neuropathy, sciatica, post-surgical pain
Pain caused by nerve damage or dysfunction, including diabetic neuropathy, sciatica, and complex regional pain syndrome, where first-line treatments have failed.
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea
Strong evidence base among cancer patients
Nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy that has not been controlled by standard antiemetic medications. Nabilone (a synthetic cannabinoid) is licensed for this.
Insomnia
Often co-prescribed alongside chronic pain or PTSD
Chronic insomnia that has not responded to CBT-I or pharmacological sleep aids. Often addressed alongside an underlying condition such as chronic pain or PTSD.
Crohn's Disease / IBD
Emerging evidence for gut inflammation and pain
Inflammatory bowel disease causing abdominal pain, cramping, and reduced quality of life where conventional disease management has been insufficient.
Endometriosis
Growing awareness and prescribing for pelvic pain
Chronic pelvic pain associated with endometriosis that persists despite hormonal and analgesic treatments. Assessment focuses on pain severity and impact on daily life.
Tourette Syndrome
Limited but positive evidence from clinical trials
Tourette syndrome with severe tics that have not responded to standard treatments. Small but positive evidence exists for cannabis-based medicines in reducing tic frequency and severity.
My condition is not on this list
This list is not exhaustive. UK regulations do not restrict cannabis-based prescribing to specific conditions — any patient with an unmet clinical need may be eligible. If you have a condition causing significant, persistent symptoms that have not been adequately managed by conventional treatments, it is worth requesting an assessment from a specialist clinic. The worst outcome is that you are assessed and not approved — there is no harm in asking.
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