You are not required to carry any specific identification as a medical cannabis patient in the UK or Channel Islands. If requested, a copy of your 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.
Currently, 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:
- Copy of a prescription by any clinic listed.
- Prescription medication packaging including a label from any pharmacy listed, signed, and in the patient's name.
Card Identification Schemes
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 is evidence of lawful consumption or legitimate medical need.
Metropolitan Police directly answered a question relating to the validity of CanCard and (the now defunct) MedCannID.
"[What is] the constabulary's policy or position relating to the recognition of unaccredited card schemes such as CanCard or MedCannID, if such a policy exists."
"The MPS follows NPCC guidance. Position – CanCard/MedCannID does not provide an individual with [an] excuse to possess cannabis. This is not the same a prescription. However, an Evidential Review Officer (ERO) would likely take CanCard into account when considering a disposal option such as No Further Action (NFA)."