The UK Has 60,000 Medical Cannabis Patients. It Still Needs Doctors To Prescribe It.

More than seven years after the United Kingdom legalized medical cannabis, a lack of physician education continues to limit patient access.

Seeking to address that gap, Curaleaf International (OTC: CURLF) has launched a free Continuing Professional Development (CPD)-accredited education platform designed to train healthcare professionals on the science, regulation, and clinical use of medical cannabis.

The initiative comes as the company warns that many clinicians still lack the confidence to discuss—or recommend—medical cannabis, despite a growing body of evidence and more than 60,000 UK patients now accessing cannabis-based medicines by prescription.

Survey Highlights Persistent Knowledge Gap

Curaleaf cited findings from a survey of UK general practitioners (GPs) that underscore the challenge.

According to the company, just 4% of GPs reported receiving any formal education on medical cannabis, while 81% described their understanding as limited or non-existent. More than half (55%) said they would need a better understanding of medical cannabis before considering recommending it to patients.

Although medical cannabis has been legal in the UK since 2018, education on the endocannabinoid system and cannabis-based medicines has yet to become a standard component of mainstream medical training.

For operators across Europe, physician education has emerged as one of the sector’s most significant bottlenecks. While regulatory frameworks continue to mature and patient awareness grows, many clinicians remain hesitant to prescribe treatments on which they received little or no formal instruction during medical school.

A Structured Curriculum For Healthcare Professionals

Available free of charge at CuraleafEducation.com, the platform offers a structured curriculum covering three key areas:

• Foundations of Medical Cannabis
• Core Knowledge for Clinical Practice
• Specialist Therapeutic Conditions

Healthcare professionals who complete the online modules receive CPD accreditation and can progress through Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced learning pathways.

According to Curaleaf, the educational content combines current scientific literature, specialist clinical expertise, and real-world outcomes from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry, which now contains data from more than 55,000 patients, making it one of the world’s largest real-world medical cannabis databases.

Building Confidence Among Clinicians

Dr. Simon Erridge, Research Director at Curaleaf Clinic, said the platform was developed to provide clinicians with practical, evidence-based guidance rather than promotional material.

“I regularly speak with GPs and consultants who want to have informed conversations with their patients about medical cannabis, but simply haven’t had the training,” Erridge said.

“What we’ve built with the Education Platform is what I wish I’d had access to when I started working in this field: clear, evidence-led modules that cut through the noise and give clinicians the confidence to integrate medical cannabis into their practice responsibly.”

Education As A Growth Strategy

For Curaleaf, the initiative represents more than a professional education program—it is also a long-term market development strategy.

Across many international medical cannabis markets, patient demand increasingly outpaces physician confidence. Companies can invest in cultivation capacity, distribution, and regulatory compliance, but prescriptions ultimately depend on healthcare professionals feeling comfortable recommending cannabis-based medicines.

Juan Martinez, CEO of Curaleaf International, said education remains fundamental to the industry’s sustainable expansion.

“Education is the foundation of responsible access,” Martinez said.

“Every clinician we equip with evidence-based training becomes a more confident, capable prescriber, and that is how we build the trust on which the long-term, sustainable growth of medical cannabis depends.”

A Broader Challenge For Global Medical Cannabis

The UK is far from alone in facing this issue.

Several emerging medical cannabis markets continue to report that physician education—not legislation—is one of the primary barriers to patient access. While governments have legalized medical cannabis in dozens of countries, formal medical curricula have generally struggled to keep pace with evolving regulations and scientific research.

As international operators continue expanding into regulated medical markets, educational initiatives like Curaleaf’s may become increasingly important—not only to improve clinician confidence but also to support responsible prescribing and long-term industry growth.

For cannabis companies operating in Europe and other emerging medical markets, the next phase of growth may depend as much on educating physicians as on building cultivation facilities or expanding distribution networks.

As physician education and international expansion continue to shape the future of medical cannabis, these conversations are becoming increasingly important for operators, clinicians, investors, and policymakers alike. IgniteIt’s next Cannabis Capital Conference, taking place September 18 in Denver, will bring together industry leaders to discuss the trends defining the next chapter of cannabis—including international markets, institutional capital, medical cannabis, regulatory developments, and the strategies driving long-term growth.

For companies preparing for the industry’s next phase, the conference will offer practical insights into capital formation, financing opportunities, business expansion, M&A, and the growth strategies shaping tomorrow’s cannabis market.