Verifying A Legitimate Medical Cannabis Prescription UK

Verifying a patient is quite sensitive, especially if you are not correctly trained. If you are an employer, please obtain consent from your employee for them to provide their medical documents and this must be reviewed by a suitable qualified occupational health professional. If the Police are to verify a patient they will need to follow the steps shown here:

Patient Can Present:

• Medical Cannabis in its original packaging/container complete with the pharmacy dispensing label.
• Letter from the prescribing clinician or a copy of the FP10 Prescription.
• Recognised form of photo ID (Passport, Driving License or 'PASS' photo ID card).

Information for patients

Clinical letters can be obtained from your patient portal or by contacting your prescribing clinic for a copy.

FP10 Prescription can be obtained from your dispensing pharmacy by contacting the pharmacy, some pharmacies can supply a copy with every repeat.

It is highly recommended that documents are printed and kept alongside your medical cannabis prescription.

If you have any further questions regarding the proof required, please contact your prescribing clinic for advice.

Other forms of "Cannabis ID", such as a CanCard, is not accepted by law as a form of identifying a medical cannabis prescription and could still land patients in trouble if they do not present the documents stated above.

"I would like to confirm that the Home Office and Department of Health and Social Care do
not endorse the Cancard scheme, or any other third-party scheme that seeks to legitimise
the possession of illicitly obtained controlled drugs. There are already sufficient means for
an individual who is lawfully in possession of a CBPM to demonstrate legitimate medical
use. This includes proof of a prescription and ID, or furnishing the dispensing label
attached to the medicine.

Anyone who cannot furnish this information and claims to be using cannabis ‘medicinally’,
without a lawful prescription for CBPMs through the relevant supply route, is breaking the
law. Any patients who have concerns about the correct way to identify themselves as a
patient with a legal prescription for medicinal cannabis, may also wish to review the
guidance published on the Gov.uk entitled ‘Bringing medicine containing a controlled drug
into the UK’. This states that patients travelling with a medicine containing a controlled
drug will require a letter of proof from the prescriber." - J Rawlinson, Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries (Department of Health and Social Care) (August 2022)

"As the response from The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) indicates, the Government does not endorse the use of Cancard, or any similar scheme that purports to legitimise the possession and supply of cannabis from illegitimate sources. Cancard does not provide authority to possess cannabis." - UK Home Office, Drugs Legislation Team (August 2023)