Medical Cannabis Eligibility Checker UK

Our free eligibility checker is designed to help you understand whether your circumstances may align with common preliminary criteria used by private medical cannabis clinics.

It cannot diagnose you, recommend treatment or determine whether medical cannabis should be prescribed.

Only an appropriately qualified clinician can make that decision.

Start the Eligibility Check

Who Can Be Prescribed Medical Cannabis?

Cannabis-based products for medicinal use have been legally prescribable in the UK since 2018.

For many unlicensed CBPMs, initial prescribing must be undertaken by a specialist medical practitioner on the GMC Specialist Register.nice.org.uk

The clinician must make an individual decision based on clinical circumstances.

Do You Have to Try Two Treatments First?

This requires careful explanation.

You'll frequently see “two treatments” mentioned by UK private clinics.

For example, Alternaleaf currently states on numerous condition pages that its applicants should have a diagnosis and have been offered at least two conventional treatments, which can include interventions such as medicines, talking therapies, physiotherapy or surgery depending on the condition.alternaleaf.co.uk

But don't confuse a clinic's screening criteria with the law.

NHS England says there is no restriction in law specifying which indications CBPMs can be prescribed for. Prescribing is a clinical decision involving the patient's condition, previous/current medicines, evidence, risks and alternative treatments.england.nhs.uk

What Conditions Are Considered?

Private clinics publish different lists of conditions they assess.

Rather than assuming that appearing on a list means cannabis is proven to treat that condition, ask two separate questions:

Those questions can produce different answers.

For example, private clinics assess some chronic pain patients, but NICE currently recommends against offering several cannabis-based products for chronic pain in adults and says CBD should not be offered for chronic pain except as part of a clinical trial.nice.org.uk

That's exactly why a specialist assessment matters.

What Happens If the Checker Says I May Be Eligible?

Don't treat the result as medical approval.

Your next steps are to:

1. Compare regulated providers.
2. Read their current eligibility requirements.
3. Understand the costs.
4. Provide accurate medical information.
5. Attend a clinical assessment.
6. Discuss benefits, uncertainties and risks with the clinician.

What Will a Clinician Consider?

NICE highlights factors including:

• medical history
• mental health history
• other medicines
• previous/current cannabis use
• potential drug interactions
• dependence and misuse risk
• pregnancy/breastfeeding
• potential benefits and harms.

This demonstrates why eligibility cannot responsibly be reduced to a three-question marketing form.

NHS Eligibility vs Private Eligibility

These are different pathways.

The NHS says medical cannabis prescriptions remain likely only for a relatively small number of patients and identifies certain severe epilepsies, chemotherapy-related sickness and MS spasticity among the principal situations.nhs.uk

Private specialists may consider CBPMs in other circumstances where lawful and clinically appropriate.england.nhs.uk

Read NHS vs Private Medical Cannabis UK for a detailed explanation.

FAQs

Compare Clinics After Your Check

If your answers indicate that a specialist assessment could be worth exploring, your next step is not “buy cannabis”.

It's: