Do 10 Doctors Really Prescribe Half of England's Medical Cannabis? The Data Tells a More Complex Story

The United Kingdom's medical cannabis market has long been something of a black box when it comes to reliable data. Because the market is almost entirely private, analysts have been forced to piece together fragmented information from individual clinics and incomplete datasets obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

In March, The Times published a story based on NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) data suggesting that just 10 doctors prescribe half of England's medical cannabis. The claim sparked widespread debate about patient access and clinic concentration. However, a closer examination of the industry reveals a much more nuanced picture.

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Understanding the NHSBSA Dataset

Business of Cannabis obtained the same NHSBSA dataset and subjected it to independent analysis. The data reveals that the high concentration of prescriptions among a small number of prescribers is a natural byproduct of how the private clinic market is structured:

• Clinic Consolidation: A small number of large private clinics dominate the UK market.
• Specialist Requirements: Under UK law, only doctors on the GMC Specialist Register can initiate cannabis prescriptions.
• Consolidated Prescribing Teams: Large clinics employ a dedicated roster of specialist consultants who sign off on a significant volume of approvals.

Rather than representing a barrier to access, the concentration shows that the market has scaled up around a few highly active clinical teams.

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The Need for a Centralized Patient Registry

The lack of a centralized, government-backed patient registry — which has been promised for over four years — continues to hamper accurate medical analysis in the UK.

Currently, private clinics run their own internal registries to track outcomes:

• The UK Medical Cannabis Registry: Established in 2019 by physicians at Curaleaf Clinic (formerly Sapphire), this is the largest database of its kind, containing data from thousands of patients.
• Clinic-Specific Cohorts: Other clinics (like Leva Clinic) publish their own outcomes data on specific patient demographics.

Without a unified national registry, it remains difficult for public health authorities to assess the true scope of patient access, long-term outcomes, or the overall impact of medical cannabis on the wider NHS healthcare system.