A guide to medical cannabis clinics in the UK

What is a medical cannabis clinic, and how do they work in the UK? 

UK medical cannabis clinics are private healthcare providers that can legally assess whether cannabis-based medicines may be clinically appropriate for your health needs and goals. If a specialist clinician listed on the GMC Specialist Register and working with a clinic deems treatment is appropriate for you, they can issue a private prescription for medical cannabis. 

Cannabis-based medicines have been a legal prescription option in the UK since November 2018. Although three cannabis-based medicines are available through the NHS for specific conditions (rare forms of epilepsy, muscle spasticity related to MS, and to help control nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy), NICE guidance has meant that access is extremely limited. 

Private UK medical cannabis clinics have stepped in to offer an alternative treatment route for patients suffering from a much wider range of health concerns than the NHS is willing to offer prescriptions for, especially those who have not responded well to conventional treatment options.

How should you compare medical cannabis clinics? Key metrics to consider 

Settling on the best UK medical cannabis clinic for your health needs is not quite as simple as just going with the lowest-priced option or the most industry awards. Both are useful signals, but neither tells you much about how that clinic actually operates on its own. 

A £29 initial consultation fee may be tempting, but when you dig into the long-term costs combined with the rest of the less obvious advantages (and potential disadvantages) the picture can look quite different. 

The best way to compare medical cannabis clinics in the UK is to look at the whole treatment experience, which includes:

• Independent patient reviews, covering rating, volume, and recency 

• Initial consultation, follow-up, and subscription costs

• Repeat prescription, delivery, and travel-documentation fees

• CQC ratings, the details behind them, and what they actually mean

• The range and experience of the clinical team

• How your treatment is overseen and adjusted over time

• Clinic transfer fees and access schemes for eligible patients 

• Research activity and clinical governance

• The non-clinical, practical support available when a prescription, delivery, appointment, or any other part of your treatment needs managing.

How do UK medical cannabis clinics actually compare?

Right now, in the second half of 2026, there are more than 30 private medical cannabis clinics operating in the UK. In this guide, we are focusing on the 10 most established providers alongside ourselves and comparing only publicly available information on patient reviews, costs, regulatory ratings, clinical care and practical everyday support. 

No single measure will tell you which clinic may be the right fit for you, and no one clinic will be right for every single patient. Lower initial appointment prices may suit one patient, while another will value more in-depth, long-term clinical care and oversight combined with the highest number and strongest overall score from independent reviews. 

Best UK medical cannabis clinics at a glance 

All of the ten clinics in this comparison offer the same base services. This includes access to a medical cannabis eligibility checker, remote consultations with specialists listed on the GMC Specialist Register who can legally prescribe medical cannabis in the UK where clinically appropriate, access to a range of medical cannabis strains and oils (with some clinics offering a much wider formulary than others), and follow-up appointments to monitor your treatment, and medication delivery. 

The differences between them become a little more obvious when we look beyond the shared services, and into the more nuanced details.

As of 12 August 2026, here is how the clinics stack up:

• Longest running clinic: Curaleaf clinic. Formerly branded as Sapphire Medical Clinics, which was established in 2019

• Highest Trustpilot review score: Releaf, the only clinic in the UK with a 4.8 out of 5 star aggregate score from 9,598 reviews

• Largest Trustpilot review base: Releaf with 9,598 reviews

• Best Google review score: Curaleaf Clinic, 4.7 from 2,862 Google reviews 

• Most recent independent review evidence: Releaf, with 7,244 reviews in the past 12 months 

• Lowest advertised starting costs: Integro Clinic, which currently advertises free initial consultations and follow-ups. Other clinics run regular promotions to lower the cost of entry

• Research: Releaf, which published the largest survey of active medical cannabis patients in the UK, with full data available to the public.

NOTE: The clinics listed in all the tables below are done so in alphabetical order, not ranked by performance, price, or perceived overall quality of service. All information was gathered on 12 August 2026 from publicly available sources.

Which clinics have the best patient reviews?

Releaf currently holds the highest Trustpilot rating combined with the industry’s largest review base, with 4.8 out of 5 stars from 9589 reviews. Curaleaf has the highest Google rating with 4.7 from 2,862 reviews. 

 

A high review score is more meaningful when it is supported by a substantial number of reviews and strong recent feedback. Considering all three measures while balancing them against each other can help you understand how consistently a clinic has met patients’ experiences over the years, whether that level of care and patient support continues today, and how the company handles both praise and criticism.

How do clinic fees compare over the course of treatment?

Integro clinic currently advertises free initial consultations and follow-up appointments. Among the rest of the clinics, Alternaleaf offers £29 pay-as-you-go appointments or a £5 monthly membership, while Releaf’s initial consultation is £9.99 at publication. This is normally £99.99, but Releaf runs regular promotions with heavy discounts. 

 

Keep in mind that the lowest entry price does not always result in the lowest cost over time. Before deciding on a specific clinic, check how often they require follow-ups, what their membership option includes, and which costs are charged separately once your treatment begins.

What extra fees can apply after your appointment?

Releaf+ offers the most comprehensive published all-in-one membership in this comparison. For £39.99 per month, members receive unlimited follow-up consultations, reduced medication pricing, included repeat-prescription requests, delivery, free same-day travel certificates, access to the Releaf+ rewards programme, along with Releaf Protect (after 30 days of continuous membership. 

Curaleaf Clinic also includes appointments, repeat-prescription administration, delivery and travel letters with its membership subscription. Lyphe’s monthly membership includes the four routine follow-ups, one repeat per month, delivery, and a standard travel letter.

The cost of prescribed medication is separate from the clinic fees shown below and varies depending on the product and the clinic supplying it. 

 

What access schemes and transfer options are available?

Mamedica offers the broadest published concessionary scheme in this comparison, with a £200 Access plan covering consultations and repeats for eligible veterans, benefit recipients, and students. 

Releaf, CB1 Medical, Curaleaf Clinic, Integro Clinics and Treat It all publish reduced-cost or free initial routes for eligible transferring patients. 

What research and awards does each clinic hold?

When it comes to publicly available research, both Releaf and Curaleaf Clinic have done very well in the past year or so. Releaf conducted the largest survey of active medical cannabis patients in the UK  in 2025, with 1,669 respondents, while Curaleaf Clinic has long-running registry-based research through the UK Medical Cannabis Registry.

Awards are included as factual recognition, but should be considered alongside clinical care, independent reviews, and the wider patient experience.

 

Are all awards equal? 

Awards can recognise a clinic's work, but they are really only one part of a much wider picture. 

Many business and medical cannabis sector awards have an entry process where clinics submit their own entries with the required evidence after paying a nomination fee. This doesn't automatically make an award meaningless, but it does mean that you should consider the award criteria, judging process, and whether the recognition is directly tied to the cannabis sector or also geared towards the wider healthcare and business landscape. 

Releaf made a conscious decision to focus any award submissions outside cannabis-specific categories, as we are a healthcare provider first and foremost. 

How long has each clinic operated, and what is its CQC position?

Curaleaf is the longest-running clinic in this comparison. It was originally established as Sapphire Medical Clinics in 2019. Integro Clinics, Leva Clinic, Lyphe Clinic, and Treat It also started treating patients in 2019. 

In terms of CQC ratings, Curleaf holds a rating of Good overall, with Outstanding for leadership, while Alternaleaf and Treat It currently have published ratings of Requires improvement. 

What does a CQC rating show?

An official CQC rating follows on from a formal CQC inspection. It is there to help patients and the wider industry understand how a clinic performs in the specific areas assessed, but it’s by no means the only way you can judge a clinic's current care model, governance, or overall patient support. 

Releaf has formally approached the CQC and requested an inspection. We are currently waiting for that to take place, as are other clinics. 

Our Chief Medical Officer, Graham Woodward, who also works as a CQC specialist adviser, brings this wealth of experience to Releaf’s clinical governance and quality assurance processes. 

“My previous clinical and quality-assurance roles, including my ongoing work as a CQC Specialist Adviser, have shaped how we build Releaf’s governance and patient-protection processes from the outset. A CQC rating can only follow a formal inspection, and patients should judge any clinic using the published evidence available at the time.”

Graham Woodward, Chief Medical Officer at Releaf.

How can you choose the clinic that actually suits your health needs?

By considering the factors that will affect your treatment week to week. The experience and depth of the clinical team, how often and how thoroughly your treatment plan is reviewed, the overall cost, and how available help is if you stumble into any issues around orders, delivery, and anything else outside of clinical care. 

Independent reviews are a great place to start. Look at how many reviews a clinic has received, how recently those reviews were written, the proportion of patients reporting a less-than-desirable experience or outcome, and how the clinic responds. 

It is always worth reading a selection of both positive and negative reviews. This will give you a much clearer picture of what patients value, and how the clinic handles all feedback. 

If you are keen to learn more about your potential eligibility for medical cannabis in the UK, head to our fast and free medical cannabis eligibility checker. It takes less than 30 seconds to complete, and will provide you with a clearer idea of whether medical cannabis may be a suitable treatment option for your health needs, no matter which clinic you intend to join. 

Releaf - Redefining healthcare