Can you get medical cannabis for migraine or cluster headache in the UK?

Migraine and cluster headache are considered by UK specialists in selected cases, usually where the substantial standard toolkit has been exhausted. There is now one properly conducted randomised trial in acute migraine — and one specific risk, medication overuse headache, that makes frequent use of any acute treatment counterproductive.

Is migraine treated with medical cannabis in the UK?

Migraine and cluster headache are assessed in selected cases by private specialists. Neither is an NHS use and nothing is licensed for either. The bar here is higher than for many conditions, because headache medicine has a large and effective standard toolkit.

For migraine, that toolkit includes triptans for acute attacks, preventive medicines such as propranolol, topiramate, amitriptyline and candesartan, the newer CGRP monoclonal antibodies and gepants, and botulinum toxin for chronic migraine — several of which are NICE-recommended and NHS-funded. A specialist will want to know which of those you have properly tried.

Cluster headache is different again. High-flow oxygen and subcutaneous sumatriptan are highly effective acute treatments for many people, and verapamil is the standard preventive. There is no trial evidence for cannabis-based medicines in cluster headache at all, and specialists will normally want the standard treatments genuinely optimised first.

What the evidence actually shows

Until recently there was no randomised evidence in migraine at all. There is now one well-conducted trial, in acute treatment, and its result is positive — which is worth reporting accurately rather than either dismissing or overselling.

A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, published in Headache, had participants treat separate migraine attacks with four vaporised preparations: THC-dominant, CBD-dominant, combined THC and CBD, and placebo. The combined THC and CBD preparation was superior to placebo at two hours for pain relief (67.2% versus 46.6%), pain freedom (34.5% versus 15.5%) and freedom from the most bothersome symptom (60.3% versus 34.5%), with sustained effects at 24 hours and no serious adverse events. THC alone helped pain relief but not pain freedom; CBD alone was no better than placebo.

This is one trial, using vaporised flower in a controlled setting, testing acute treatment rather than prevention. It does not tell you whether daily use prevents attacks — and daily use of an acute treatment is precisely how medication overuse headache develops.

What a specialist will want to see

There is no UK list of qualifying conditions, so nothing here entitles you to a prescription. A specialist works through your history and decides whether a monitored trial is justified for you. For migraine and cluster headache they will typically look at:

• Your headache diagnosis: migraine with or without aura, chronic migraine, cluster headache, or something else
• How many headache days a month you have, and how many days you use acute medication
• Which preventives you have tried, at what doses, and for how long before judging them
• Whether CGRP treatments or botulinum toxin have been offered or considered
• Whether medication overuse headache has been ruled out — this changes the whole approach
• Triggers, sleep, and any co-occurring anxiety or depression

The general requirements — age, a documented diagnosis, the convention that two standard treatments have been tried, and access to your medical records — are covered in What are the requirements?

Risks and reasons a specialist may say no

The specific risk in headache is medication overuse headache: using any acute treatment on too many days a month can turn episodic headache into chronic daily headache. A treatment that helps each attack while increasing the number of attacks has made things worse.

Cannabis withdrawal can also cause headache, which creates an obvious trap for someone using it regularly. Beyond that, the usual profile applies: drowsiness, dizziness, impaired concentration, driving impairment from THC-containing products, and caution where there is any personal or family history of psychosis. Any new, changed or severe headache pattern needs medical assessment rather than self-treatment.

If you want to take this further

The useful next step is a proper assessment, not a better list. Gather your diagnosis, the treatments you have already tried and what happened with each, and your current medicines — that is what a specialist needs in order to give you a straight answer.

The consultation itself, and what happens after it, is set out in What is the process to get a medical cannabis prescription? If migraine and cluster headache is not the only thing you are being treated for, say so early: other conditions and other medicines change the assessment.

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