Petition · past parliament
Expand the list of illnesses where medical cannabis is available as treatment
Rejected
10 signatures
What the petition asks
Currently, the only patients who qualify for cannabis-based medical products are patients with cancer, MS or specific types of epilepsy. Chronic pain conditions have been proved to be eased by cannabis, but patients rely on other legal painkillers that are more addictive and harmful to the body.
The World Health Organisation and UN have both confirmed that cannabis is no longer considered a risky narcotic. However, most prescription medications for pain are opiates that are more addictive long-term than cannabis.
Expanding access could help millions of Brits with chronic pain. As the UK is the world’s largest exporter of cannabis products, it’s mystifying that our own citizens don’t have access to it as medication. https://www.nhs.uk/news/neurology/cannabis-for-nerve-pain-studied/
Expanding access could help millions of Brits with chronic pain. As the UK is the world’s largest exporter of cannabis products, it’s mystifying that our own citizens don’t have access to it as medication. https://www.nhs.uk/news/neurology/cannabis-for-nerve-pain-studied/
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
The Government has passed legislation allowing patients to be prescribed medicinal cannabis by specialist doctors, and this does not specify a list of conditions which can be treated using medicinal cannabis: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-that-medicinal-cannabis-is-legal
It would be up to individual medical practitioners, not the Government or House of Commons, to decide whether to try and prescribe medicinal cannabis for particular patients with particular conditions. The NHS's guidance on when medicinal cannabis may be prescribed is available here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/medical-cannabis/
We could accept a petition calling on the Government to reduce the restrictions on prescribing medicinal cannabis, so this can be done by GPS rather than specialist doctors, and that this not only be possible when no alternative treatment is available.
We have published the following petitions, which you might like to sign:
Legalise medical and recreational cannabis in the UK: Legalise medical and recreational cannabis in the UK
Fund more research into medical benefits of cannabis: Fund more research into medical benefits of cannabis
It would be up to individual medical practitioners, not the Government or House of Commons, to decide whether to try and prescribe medicinal cannabis for particular patients with particular conditions. The NHS's guidance on when medicinal cannabis may be prescribed is available here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/medical-cannabis/
We could accept a petition calling on the Government to reduce the restrictions on prescribing medicinal cannabis, so this can be done by GPS rather than specialist doctors, and that this not only be possible when no alternative treatment is available.
We have published the following petitions, which you might like to sign:
Legalise medical and recreational cannabis in the UK: Legalise medical and recreational cannabis in the UK
Fund more research into medical benefits of cannabis: Fund more research into medical benefits of cannabis
Timeline
| 4 Dec 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 10 Dec 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
10
Status
Rejected
Rejected
10 Dec 2020
Follow this petition
Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.
Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.