A Guide to Medical Cannabis Cards

There are many types of cards in the world. There are the cards you write beautiful birthday messages on. There are the cards you play snap with. There are the cards you use to pay for a CBD oat latte with. But now, there are the cards you use to prove you are eligible for medical cannabis. But like with all cards, there are many different versions of them. It’s like with banking cards – do you use a HSBC card? A Monzo card? Or a Tide card? These are decisions people have to make every day. But how about medical cannabis cards? Should you use a Cancard? A MedCannId? Or a MedicanCard? It’s a confusing world. That’s why we’re here to shed some light on the whole thing. Read on.

Is Cannabis Legal In The UK?

Before we can delve into the three main cannabis cards that are on offer in the UK, we must first look into why they even exist. Medical cannabis cards have come into existence due to the fact that cannabis legalization in the UK is stagnant, and isn’t accounting for those who require medicinal cannabis, but aren’t able to pay for the extortionate private costs of prescription. Let’s delve deeper into this.

Illegal Cannabis in the UK

The situation is this: recreational cannabis is illegal in the UK and unfortunately probably will be for a long time, unless something drastically changes. Any product that contains more than 0.2% THC is illegal. In fact, even CBD buds, which don’t contain more than that, still remain illegal just because they resemble the cannabis plant. The UK government hates the cannabis plant. Or at least, they hate the cannabis plant if they aren’t able to make any money from it. The UK is, funnily enough, the biggest exporter of medical cannabis in the world, but almost none of that goes towards the UK. Instead, it is sold abroad and the money goes right into the pharmaceutical companies’ pockets.

Possession, selling and cultivation of cannabis is illegal in the UK. If you’re discovered to be using weed for any of these purposes, you can be sentenced to up to 14 years in jail and a blank cheque fine. Of course, you’re unlikely to be arrested for having a few grams on you, but the law is still firm when it comes to cannabis in the UK.

Legal Cannabis in the UK

Although cannabis legalization in the UK is nowhere near being the most progressive in Europe, it isn’t all doom and gloom. The UK hasn’t legalized recreational cannabis like Amsterdam or California, but what have they done? Well, first of all, all CBD products are legal in the UK as long as they don’t contain more than 0.2% THC (which is basically nothing). This means that you can easily purchase CBD products in shops, cafes and basically anywhere. CBD is accepted in the UK.

But what about THC and the rest of the cannabis plant? Well, medical cannabis (be it THC or CBD) has been legal in the UK since 2018. However, it’s not surprising if you didn’t already know that fact. It’s not like it’s been shouted about. Plus, finding and paying for a prescription to medical cannabis is not an easy ordeal. The NHS doesn’t offer it, and the private places that do – offer it at an extremely high price. This means that many people who require cannabis to treat their physical or mental conditions, are being forced to purchase it from illegal street dealers or the dark-web. This puts them at jeopardy of being discovered and prosecuted. It is this exact reason, and for these exact people, that the medical cannabis cards came into existence.

Benefits of Medical Cannabis

The benefits of cannabis and the wonders of the cannabis plant are finally beginning to be researched and championed by the world. Although it’s been slow improvements, there’s no doubt that more people are becoming aware of how many conditions marijuana can treat. People are also beginning to realise that cannabis treats both physical and mental conditions. Here is a list of the conditions that cannabis can assist with.

Physical

  • Chronic pain
  • Skin conditions
  • Cancer symptoms
  • Tourette’s Syndrome
  • Soreness
  • Epilepsy

Mental

  • Anxiety
  • ADHD
  • Depression
  • PTSD
  • Sleep deprivation