Medical Cannabis

Medical cannabis, explained.

The same plant, in a regulated setting: prescribed, labelled and lab-tested, for specific medical reasons. Here's what it actually is, how it works, what the evidence really supports, and how you can (and can't) get it. Factual, evidence-graded, and not a 'get a prescription' site.

Prescribed, not recreational

Cannabis as medicine: what it is, the evidence, and how it's accessed. For everyday CBD that's a different thing; for recreational law, The Law.

Strong for a few things. Thin for the popular ones.

The gap between what medical cannabis is marketed for and what the evidence supports is wide, so we grade it, like everything else here.

Strong Rare, severe epilepsies A purified CBD medicine is well-proven and NHS-recommended for specific childhood epilepsies.
Modest MS spasticity · chemo nausea Real second-line options with moderate benefit, offered when standard treatments fall short.
Thin Chronic pain · anxiety · sleep The most-wanted uses have the least evidence: promising stories, thin trial data.
What's in this section
01

What it is

Cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs), medical vs recreational, and the licensed-vs-unlicensed split that trips everyone up.

02

How it works

THC, CBD and the endocannabinoid system in plain English, and why 'medical' doesn't always mean 'high'.

03

What it treats & the evidence

The honest heart of it: strong for a few things, modest for a couple, thin for the popular ones, every claim graded.

04

How it's taken

Oils, flower, sprays and capsules: how each is dosed, how fast it works, and the side effects and cautions.

05

The law around the world

How the UK route works, from prescriptions to NHS vs private to driving and travel, then a snapshot of medical access worldwide.

This section explains medical cannabis. It doesn't recommend it. Whether a cannabis-based medicine is right for anyone is a decision for that person and a specialist doctor, not a website. For everyday CBD that's a different, far weaker thing; and for recreational cannabis law, see The Law and Where Cannabis Is Legal.