The United Kingdom’s medical cannabis market is expanding rapidly, with imports and product availability more than doubling in a single year and patient numbers expected to surpass 140,000 by the end of 2026, according to a new report from Prohibition Partners.
The UK Medical Cannabis Market Update 2026 projects that the market could be worth up to an estimated £398 million by the end of this year, with Prohibition Partners placing its base-case estimate at approximately £345 million. By 2030, the firm expects the market to grow to roughly £935 million, with the patient population approaching 390,000.
According to the report, the UK imported 30,061 kilograms of medical cannabis in 2025, more than double the 14,992 kilograms imported in 2024. Imports stood at 6,939 kilograms in 2023, highlighting how quickly the market has grown over the past two years.
Product availability has expanded at a similar pace. Prohibition Partners says the number of cannabis-based medicines available to UK patients increased from 374 in April 2025 to 818 in March 2026. Dried flower remains the dominant format, accounting for roughly 80% of available products, though vapes and extracts are also growing.
The rapid increase in supply has contributed to falling prices. The report found that average medical cannabis flower prices declined from £7.10 per gram to £6.80 per gram over the past year, while vape prices fell by about 25%.
Canada has emerged as the leading supplier to the UK market. Canadian exports to the UK increased by 562% in 2025, rising from 2.58 tonnes in 2024 to 17.07 tonnes. Prohibition Partners estimates that Canada now accounts for 70% to 80% of the medical cannabis entering the UK when products routed through other countries, including Portugal, are included.
Spain, meanwhile, has seen its share fall sharply. The report says Spain supplied more than half of UK medical cannabis imports in 2023, but its share dropped to 11% in 2025.
“This is no longer a niche, fringe market,” said Alexander Khourdaji, senior analyst at Prohibition Partners and author of the report. “In the space of two years, the UK has become one of the fastest-growing medical cannabis markets anywhere in the world, and most people have no idea it’s happening on this scale.”
Khourdaji added that Canada is now supplying “the vast majority” of cannabis being prescribed to UK patients, with the number of people accessing treatment growing faster than expected.
Patient access in the UK continues to occur almost entirely through private-pay online clinics rather than the National Health Service. Prohibition Partners says more than 40 private clinics now operate nationally, with just eight platforms accounting for an estimated 80% of prescriptions.
That model has helped expand access, but it has also drawn scrutiny. The report notes that health regulators, including the Care Quality Commission, have raised concerns about oversight, documentation and prescribing practices at some clinics. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is expected to review the sector in 2026 or 2027.
Domestic cultivation remains a smaller part of the UK’s supply chain. Prohibition Partners estimates that domestic production accounted for about 14% of total supply in 2025. Although domestic cultivation volumes are expected to grow, imports are projected to rise faster, reducing the domestic share to about 9% by 2030.
The report identifies companies such as Glass Pharms, Dalgety and Celadon as domestic cultivators, while noting that UK-grown medical cannabis must still be processed into finished products before reaching patients.
Overall, Prohibition Partners describes the UK as one of the fastest-growing medical cannabis markets in the world, driven by rising patient demand, a rapidly expanding product range and increasingly established international supply chains. At the same time, falling prices, clinic consolidation and potential regulatory changes could shape how the market develops through the end of the decade.
