Barriers to Medical Cannabis in the UK
Human Rights Implications of Criminalization and Inequitable Access
Abstract
Although legislative amendments in 2018 legalized medical cannabis in the United Kingdom, access remains severely limited. Private prescriptions have increased, but National Health Service treatment is exceedingly rare. As a result, individuals using cannabis to manage health conditions are often forced to risk criminalization, undermining their rights and deepening existing inequalities. The discriminatory effects of drug law enforcement are well documented, particularly the disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities. Similar inequalities affect women and those with disabilities, who may be more likely to experience health conditions treatable by medical cannabis yet face barriers to lawful access. This reflects not only the injustice of ongoing criminalization but also a broader failure to uphold core human rights, particularly autonomy and equality. This article examines the legal and systemic barriers to medical cannabis through a combined doctrinal and socio-legal approach. Analysed in light of Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the article shows how current laws constrain access, entrench disadvantage and perpetuate harm, and argues that decriminalizing possession of cannabis for personal use is the most practical step towards addressing these inequalities.
Keywords: medical cannabis; decriminalization; human rights; Article 8 ECHR; Article 14 ECHR; equality; autonomy; drug policy.
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