Please be aware that special 4-day bank holiday celebrations for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, will affect dispatch from Thursday 2nd June until the following Monday 6th.
You are not required to carry any specific identification as a medical cannabis patients in the UK. If requested, a copy of you prescription will suffice as proof of your lawful use of a controlled substance. We recommend keeping an electronic copy of your prescription on your device in case of any queries by law enforcement, whom may carry out further checks including ringing your pharmacy to ensure your prescription is infact valid.
There are services such as CanCard which offer an unofficial medical cannabis identification card, we would not generally recommend such a form of identification - which neither needs to be accepted by police, nor any other official body.
At this time, a copy of a valid prescription is the only way of identifying a lawful cannabis patient.
Police officers, consider the following as evidence of lawful consumption when coupled with any other form of personal identification:
You can find the full Legislation for Medical Cannabis Usage (2018) on the UK government website.
All patients are expected to vape, or consume sublingual products (oils, capsules etc.), smoking is only permitted for 'research' purposes.
According to the exact wording used in the above linked amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act:
16A (3) A person shall not self-administer a cannabis-based product for medicinal use in humans by the smoking of the product (other than for research purposes in accordance with regulation 13)
Regulation 13 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (2001) states:
(...) shall not have effect in relation to the smoking of cannabis or cannabis resin for the purposes of research on any premises for the time being approved for the purpose under this regulation by the Secretary of State.
We interpret the current legislation as only permitting the 'smoking' of medical cannabis, when part of a research group. This is not intended to be legal advice, just but an interpretation of the above vague legalese.
Drug Science, an advocacy and research group, which focuses on non-traditional forms of medication - offers a research group for patients in the UK through participating clinics. By agreeing to share personal medical information to further research into medical cannabis usage, you in return will be offered a discount on cannabis flower and oil products. You can find full details on Project Twenty 21 on the linked website, participating clinics will typically ask if you want to join during their sign-up process. The project is expected to end in the coming months.
Currently flower is available from £5/g, this price was set to rise to £7/g from 1st March 2022, but this has thankfully now been postponed as of 17th Feb 2022 due to the continual protesting of patients over the unaffordability of a 40% increase. It's also been confirming around the same time there's currently 2,200 UK patients on the scheme.
While baring no affiliation, Sapphire Clinics offer an 'Access' scheme offering discounted product to some of their patients. Another big-name pharmacy is set to launch their own discount access scheme (as of May 22) though this currently cannot be formally announced.
It is outlined in the Drink & Drug Driving (1988) regulations 'Section 5A' titled 'Defences':
Section 5A(3) RTA 1988 provides a defence if a specified controlled drug is prescribed or supplied in accordance with the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and taken in accordance with medical advice. Section 5A(4) RTA 1988 confirms that the defence is not available if medical advice about not driving for a certain period of time after taking the drug has not been followed. There is no reverse burden of proof. If a defendant raises this, the Court must assume that the defence is satisfied, unless the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that it is not. The offence in S.4 RTA 1988 applies to those whose driving is impaired by specified controlled drugs taken in such circumstances. Section 4 RTA 1988 also applies to those whose driving is impaired by drugs that are not specified for the purposes of the offence. Given that a defendant may have a medical reason for one drug but not another, it would be sensible to charge each drug offence separately; furthermore, as outlined below, given that the limits are different for each drug, there should be separate charges for each individual drug in any event. Section 5A(6) RTA 1988 provides a defence to being in charge of a motor vehicle with a specified controlled drug in the blood or urine above the specified limit for that drug, if the defendant can show that there was no likelihood of him driving the vehicle while over the specified limit. This is similar to the defence in s. 5(2) RTA 1988.
New patients commonly ask whether they need to inform their employer... no etc.
Discussing medical tubs and keeping away from kids
Dealing with smell/vaping vs smoking/air purifiers.
National Health-Service FAQ on Cannabis-Based Products for Medicinal Use (CBPM)
