The treatment option 1.77 million Brits source illegally: UK’s legal medical cannabis access gap explained

A 2024 cross-sectional study remains the most recent peer-reviewed national estimate of its kind - and while it may be almost two years since its publication (and almost four years since the data was actually collected), the data tells a somewhat similar, while evolving story as it did then… 

“Illicit Cannabis Use to Self-Treat Chronic Health Conditions in the United Kingdom: Cross-Sectional Study” found that a whopping 1.77 million UK adults source street weed to help control the symptoms of a diagnosed condition. That number dwarfs the 100,000 estimate who now have legal access to regulated cannabis-based medicines, overseen and prescribed by a specialist doctor. 

That is not far off 20x as many people using illegal cannabis for medical reasons compared to those with a prescription. 

But why?

Why did so many people still choose street-sourced weed over legal UK medical cannabis, and is that still the case?

That's the question at hand, and one that is worth digging into properly. Along with the data from the 2022 (released in 2024), we have some more recently released data to lean on, which lets us do something we couldn’t with the 2024 study alone: that is, check whether the reasons people gave back then still hold up in mid-2026. 

What the 2022 survey found

Bearing in mind that these answers are from four years ago, so they don’t necessarily reflect the current social climate and understanding, but they are a useful reference point for us to start with.

The answers are all from UK adults using illicitly sourced cannabis to help control the symptoms of a health issue. When asked why they went down the illicit route, rather than reaching out to a private medical cannabis clinic, four main reasons surfaced:

• 41% simply presumed legal access would be too ‘difficult’

• 29% presumed it would be too expensive

• 28% wanted to treat their symptoms immediately, and said that they assumed that chasing a prescription would take weeks, or even months

• 24% were simply unaware that medical cannabis was a legal treatment option in the UK 

Just as a note, the respondents were able to select more than one reason, so the figures above do overlap. But the pattern is clear. Four years ago, the biggest barriers to medical cannabis access were assumptions around cost, access, and lack of understanding of the laws. 

So, how much of that still prevails in 2026?

Is legal access still "too difficult"?

This was the leading concern back in 2022, but it is probably the barrier that has changed the most, even if the underlying regulations remain the same.

What hasn’t changed?

• A medical cannabis prescription must be initiated by a specialist consultant on the GMC's Specialist Register, not your regular GP. 

• You must be diagnosed with a chronic condition (more than three months) and have tried at least two conventional treatment options.

What has changed is how that process actually plays out.

In 2022, there was only a small handful of clinics and less than 10,000 legal patients. Since then, the model has shifted to be almost totally online, and according to the 2026 Prohibition Partner’s report, near to 80% of prescriptions are now issued through fewer than 12 clinics, with four major players in the market: Releaf, Alternaleaf, Mamedica, and Curaleaf. This has meant that what was once a 3 to 4 week long referral process now takes less than a week for the majority of new patients. 

When we entered the market in early 2024, we understood the friction that had kept many of the eligible patients away from the legal market, and we set about trying to fix it. 

Since launching our bespoke HealthTech platform, Releaf rapidly became not only the fastest growing clinic, but also the most trusted UK medical cannabis clinic in the UK. We were the first clinic to offer UK patients access to domestically grown medical cannabis strains through our landmark partnership with Glass Pharms. This was done in direct response to the supply chain issues that had plagued the industry until that point, in large part due to the sole reliance on an international supply chain.

Is legal medical cannabis in the UK “too expensive”?

Back in 2022, nearly a third of the study respondents assumed that legal medical cannabis flower, oil, and other products would cost a fair bit more than they were paying through illicit sources. And while that was partially true back then, it really isn’t any more. 

Per gram, prescribed flower now matches (or even slightly undercuts) much of the illicit market.

Street-bought vs legally prescribed: the full picture 

Do people still believe that "UK medical cannabis is illegal"?

Yes, and no. 

Misunderstanding and stigma take a long time to quell, but the trend is slowly shifting in the right direction. Back in 2022, around one quarter of the respondents had no idea that UK medical cannabis was a legal option at all. 

In April 2023, we released our Say No To Pain report, a nationally representative survey of over 4,200 UK adults. Around a third (34.77%) of the participants then still believed medical cannabis was illegal, or weren't aware it could be prescribed, but this was a survey of the general population, not those already self-medicating, so the two figures shouldn't be directly compared.

What it does give us is a clear public baseline to measure against. 

By March 2025, a survey of 2,000 UK adults found that roughly 75% of respondents were aware that medical cannabis could be legally prescribed.

That said, we do still hear from patients running into issues around contact with police who are unaware of the legality of UK medical cannabis. This was the driving force behind our Releaf Protect initiative, which we launched 3 months ago in partnership with one of the UK’s leading law firms, Irwin Mitchell. 

Click the link above to learn more about how Releaf Protect can help in these situations. 

A legal route that finally works, with Releaf leading the way

Back in 2022, people stayed illicit because of assumptions, some of which were true back then. In 2026, the UK medical landscape has shifted immensely. The price gap has closed, the time it takes to become a legal patient is a fraction of what it once was, and a legal prescription now offer patients access to a huge range of both domestic and international options.

Yet, the gap still remains.

There are likely more than 1.77 million people across the UK still self-medicating with street-bought, unregulated cannabis, against the roughly 100,000 legal patients. If you are one of them, managing a diagnosed condition with prescribed medical cannabis is a fully legal route. One that may be cheaper, and certainly, one with far greater regulatory and clinical oversight. 

To see if treatment could be suitable for you, head to our medical cannabis eligibility checker. It’s free, takes less than 30 seconds, and could be the first step towards better health outcomes