United Kingdom countries/gb.yaml
Supply, including giving cannabis to a friend, carries up to 14 years and an unlimited fine; the Sentencing Council's maximum for a Class B supply offence is 14 years' custody and/or an unlimited fine.[@sa,sc]
sa, sc
The Lancet — CAMS study abstract (Zajicek et al., 2003; 630 patients, 33 UK centres) University of Reading — GW Pharmaceuticals operates under Home Office licence; Sativex approved in the UK (2011) OnLondon — mayor's commission seeks decriminalisation of small-amount possession (28 May 2025) UK Parliament — written answer on cannabis decriminalisation (10 September 2026, no plans to change the law) Sentencing Council — Supplying a controlled drug (Class B maximum: 14 years and/or unlimited fine) 17 unchanged
label Possession of a Class B drug · treatment criminal · prison 5 years · note Unlimited fine and/or up to five years; out-of-court disposals usual first
label Production of a Class B drug · treatment criminal · prison 14 years · note Unlimited fine and/or up to 14 years on indictment
label Supply of a Class B drug (including giving to a friend) · treatment criminal · prison 14 years · note Unlimited fine and/or up to 14 years
There is no legal way to buy cannabis for adult use: all of it is supplied illegally, mostly high-strength herbal cannabis, and used in private.[@iea18] In England and Wales users who are caught usually get a cannabis warning, a community resolution or a £90 penalty notice before any prosecution; of those who reach court, about 60% are fined.[@sa] A 2025 London commission urged decriminalising small-quantity possession, and the government answered in 2026 that it has no plans to change the law.[@londondc,parl26]
iea18, sa, londondc, parl26
licensed
Britain ran one of the largest cannabis trials of its era: [the MRC-funded CAMS study](/history/uk-cams-trial-results-2003/) treated 630 multiple-sclerosis patients at 33 UK centres with oral cannabis extract, THC or placebo, finding no effect on the primary spasticity scale but improvements patients reported themselves.[@cams] GW Pharmaceuticals has [worked under Home Office licences](/history/uk-gw-pharmaceuticals-licence-1998/) since 1998, and its Sativex mouth spray became the first licensed natural cannabis derivative, approved in the UK in 2010.[@reading]
cams, reading