Exclusive data obtained by The Times has uncovered a startling concentration in the prescription of medical cannabis across the United Kingdom. The figures reveal that a mere ten private consultants have been responsible for authorising more than half of all cannabis-based medicines since their legalisation in 2018.
Staggering Prescription Volumes from a Handful of Practitioners
The statistics show these ten doctors working within private clinics prescribed over 805,000 cannabis treatments between 2019 and early 2025, representing a dominant 52 per cent of the national total. Even more remarkably, a single consultant alone accounted for one in every ten prescriptions nationwide.
This individual practitioner authorised nearly 46,000 cannabis medicines during just the first five months of 2024. This extraordinary volume equates to issuing one prescription approximately every two working minutes throughout that period.
Explosive Growth in Cannabis Prescriptions
Following a cautious initial uptake, prescription rates accelerated dramatically. Monthly figures reached 10,000 by mid-2022 before surging to 50,000 per month in early 2024. The data indicates prescriptions peaked at around 100,000 monthly in early 2025 before experiencing a subsequent decline.
The physical volume of cannabis prescribed has seen parallel exponential growth. Total prescribed grams jumped from 2.7 million in 2022 to 9.8 million in 2024, according to available data.
High-Potency Products and Mental Health Focus
A significant proportion of these prescriptions involve high-potency products. Dozens of specialist pharmacies now supply strains with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content exceeding 30 per cent. Products containing more than 22 per cent THC accounted for almost half of all prescriptions in the first two months of 2025.
Notably, the strongest legally available medical cannabis in the UK is a strain named 'Space Cake', which contains 34 per cent THC. This potency significantly exceeds the 14 to 16 per cent THC typically found in street 'skunk' cannabis seized by police forces.
Data from Mamedica, one of the country's largest private clinics, indicates that 50.5 per cent of its over 12,000 patients receive cannabis prescriptions for psychiatric conditions, primarily depression and anxiety. Some clinics have been criticised for marketing that suggests "you don't need a serious medical condition to be prescribed cannabis," and for offering free consultations or discounted prescriptions to benefits claimants.
Scientific Evidence and Safety Concerns
The rapid expansion occurs amidst ongoing scientific debate about efficacy and safety. A major study published this month in The Lancet Psychiatry analysed 54 clinical trials spanning 45 years and found no evidence that medicinal cannabis effectively treats anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder. While the research suggested potential benefits for conditions like epilepsy, chronic pain, and autism, it concluded the overall quality of evidence remains low.
Professor Sir Robin Murray of King's College London has publicly warned that some private clinics are "causing harm to the people they are claiming to help." The NHS officially lists hallucinations and suicidal thoughts among the potential side effects of medicinal cannabis treatment.
Tragic Case Highlights Potential Dangers
The human cost of this largely unregulated private sector growth was tragically illustrated by the case of Oliver Robinson. The 34-year-old former property developer from Bury, Greater Manchester, took his own life in 2023 after developing a £1,000-a-month addiction to medical cannabis.
His family reported he was "driven to the depths of despair" by the drug, following an 18-month downward spiral that began after just one video consultation with a private cannabis clinic. Mr Robinson had been suffering from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and suicidal thoughts.
The Path to Legalisation and Current Scrutiny
Medicinal cannabis was legalised in the UK in 2018 following public outcry over the seizure of medication from Billy Caldwell, a severely epileptic child who experienced up to 400 seizures daily. He became the first NHS patient to receive a cannabis-based prescription.
However, a Mail on Sunday investigation last year found private clinics were offering 'medical cannabis' to mentally unwell patients despite experts stating there was "no good evidence" the drug could help their conditions. The concentration of prescribing power among a small group of private practitioners, coupled with the prescription of high-THC products for mental health issues with limited evidence of benefit, has raised significant questions about patient safety and regulatory oversight in this rapidly growing sector.
