What is the process of actually getting your medical cannabis?

A prescription is not the last step. Medical cannabis is a Schedule 2 controlled drug, which brings specific rules about how it is dispensed, delivered, stored and repeated. Here is what actually happens.

From prescription to doorstep

Once a specialist issues a prescription, it goes to a pharmacy — not to you. The pharmacy verifies it, confirms your identity, takes payment, dispenses against it, and arranges tracked delivery.

1. The prescription is sent to a registered pharmacy. UK pharmacies dispensing controlled drugs are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
2. The pharmacy checks the prescription is legally valid and clinically appropriate, and may contact the prescriber with queries.
3. You confirm your identity and pay. Payment for the medicine is made to the pharmacy, not the clinic.
4. Stock is confirmed and the medicine dispensed, labelled with your name, the product, the dose and the prescriber's instructions.
5. Tracked delivery to your address, normally requiring an adult signature.

The 28-day rule

A prescription for a Schedule 2 controlled drug is valid for 28 days from the date the prescriber signs it. After that, a pharmacy cannot lawfully supply against it.

This catches people out more than any other rule, usually when a payment, an identity check or a stock issue eats up the window. Two practical habits help: deal with identity and payment as soon as the pharmacy contacts you, and if a delay looks likely to run past three weeks, tell the clinic rather than waiting. There are also limits on how far in advance a prescription can be dispensed, so you cannot simply stockpile.

Why it goes through a pharmacy

Controlled drugs must be dispensed by a registered pharmacy, under a pharmacist's supervision, with record-keeping and audit requirements that apply to every supply.

The pharmacist is a genuine second clinical check, not an administrative step. They review the prescription for interactions, dose and legal validity, and will contact the prescriber if something does not look right. You can look up any UK pharmacy on the GPhC register.

Delivery and packaging

Medicines are sent by tracked courier and normally require an adult signature at the delivery address. Packaging is plain, showing only your name and address — no clinic branding and nothing indicating the contents.

Practical points worth knowing:

• Someone aged 18 or over needs to be there to sign. Controlled drugs are not left in a safe place or with a neighbour.
• Delivery goes to the address held on your prescription record. Changing it usually needs to be arranged in advance with the pharmacy.
• Some pharmacies can deliver to a workplace or a secure collection point; ask rather than assume.
• Keep the dispensing note and delivery documentation. It is useful proof that the medicine in your possession is prescribed to you.

Storing it safely at home

Keep it in the original labelled pharmacy packaging, cool, dry, out of sunlight, and secured away from children, visitors and anyone else in your home.

Two reasons, both serious. The medical one: accidental ingestion by a child is a medical emergency, and cannabis-based medicines look and smell appealing to nobody except in the ways that matter here. The legal one: it is prescribed to you and only you. Giving, lending or selling any of it to another person — including a partner or family member with the same condition — is supply of a controlled drug.

Keeping it in the pharmacy packaging with the label intact also matters if you are ever stopped by police. See carrying your medicine.

Repeat prescriptions

Repeats are not automatic. Each one is a fresh clinical decision by a prescriber, usually tied to your review schedule.

The usual pattern: you request a repeat through the clinic ahead of running out; a prescriber reviews whether continuing is appropriate; a new prescription is issued and sent to the pharmacy; the 28-day clock starts again. Request repeats well before you run low — a fortnight's notice is a reasonable habit, more if you have had supply problems before.

When things go wrong

Three situations come up often enough to plan for.

Stock shortages and delays

Supply gaps for particular products are a recognised problem in the UK market, and they are the most common cause of a delayed delivery. If a product is unavailable your prescriber may need to consider an alternative, which is a clinical decision, not a substitution the pharmacy can make on its own. Ask any clinic how they handle shortages before you commit to them — it is a fair question and the answer tells you a lot.

Running out early

Speak to your clinic rather than to anyone else. Early re-supply of a controlled drug is tightly controlled and needs a clinical explanation. Filling a gap from the illicit market carries all the risks set out in medical cannabis versus street cannabis, and it undermines the treatment you are paying for.

Lost, stolen or damaged medicine

Tell your clinic and pharmacy immediately. Report theft to the police and keep the crime reference number. Replacement is not automatic — it requires a new prescription and, normally, evidence of what happened.

Stopping treatment

If treatment is not working, or the side effects outweigh the benefit, it should stop — and that conversation should be routine, not awkward.

Talk to your prescriber rather than stopping abruptly on your own, particularly with THC-containing medicines, where stopping suddenly after regular use can cause withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, poor sleep, low appetite and low mood. A prescriber can plan a taper. Any remaining medicine should be returned to a pharmacy for safe disposal, never put in a bin or passed to anyone else.

Patient guide · Written by the Flora House editorial team · Last reviewed: 31 August 2026