The Challenges of Being a Medical Cannabis Patient in 2025!

Author: Lydia Donaldson

A Patient’s Relatable Journey

Hi, I’m Lydia. I’m 29 years old, living with multiple chronic illnesses, and I’ve been a medical cannabis patient since 2022. When conventional treatments failed, cannabis became my lifeline offering a level of relief I had started to believe wasn’t possible.

Since then, I’ve become an advocate for other patients, using my voice to highlight what’s really going on behind the scenes of the UK’s medical cannabis industry. Because while cannabis has transformed lives including my own the system designed to deliver it is failing us.

A Legal Medicine That Feels Out of Reach

Despite being legalised in the UK, access to medical cannabis in 2025 remains entirely privatised. There is still no meaningful NHS provision, which means patients are forced to rely on expensive private clinics.

For many of us, that cost is a barrier too high to climb. And it’s getting worse.

The Financial Strain Is Crushing Patients

The cost of living crisis has hit everyone but for medical cannabis patients, it’s had devastating consequences. Many of us rely on benefits like PIP (Personal Independence Payment), but this barely stretches far enough to cover rent, food, and heating let alone private prescriptions.

Upfront fees for consultations, monthly medication costs, delivery charges, and pharmacy fees all add up. As a result, many patients are being priced out of accessing their legal medicine, forcing them to turn to the black market. This isn’t a choice it’s desperation. And it comes with serious risks: unregulated cannabis products can be unsafe, unpredictable, and ineffective.

During winter, things get even worse. I’ve spoken to patients who had to choose between heating their homes or affording their medicine. Others have turned to food banks. Some just go without, sacrificing their wellbeing because they simply cannot afford both health and survival.

This isn’t just about money. It’s about dignity, safety, and basic human rights.

No Stability, No Security

Beyond affordability, another crisis is quietly harming patients: supply inconsistency. Even if you can afford your prescription, there’s no guarantee the same strain or brand will be in stock next month.

This constant disruption is incredibly destabilising especially for patients with complex or sensitive health needs. Switching medication can bring setbacks, unwanted side effects, or even flare-ups of symptoms you thought you had under control.

The stress of not knowing if your medicine will be available or if it’ll work the same is anxiety-inducing and unfair. No one should have to fight this hard for consistency in their healthcare.

We Need Reform: Now!

The UK’s medical cannabis system is at a tipping point. Patient numbers are rising, but instead of being met with care, they’re being met with profit-driven practices that ignore the reality of chronic illness and disability.

We need change:

• We need accessible NHS prescriptions.
• We need standardised, transparent pricing.
• We need guaranteed, reliable stock.
• We need to put patients over profit.

No one should have to suffer or go without because they can’t afford or access the only treatment that works for them.

Takeaway: Patients Deserve Better….

I share my story because I know I’m not alone. Thousands of others are living through the same struggles in silence navigating a broken system while managing complex health conditions.

It doesn’t have to be this way. We deserve better. We deserve compassion, accessibility, and a healthcare system that works for us, not against us.

It’s time for meaningful reform. And I won’t stop speaking out until we see it.

Stay updated with Lydia’s journey and follow her on notoverreacting: https://www.instagram.com/not_ovaryacting_pmdd?igsh=MTA3d2lvMHFoOTRqMQ==.