Cannabis Statistics UK 2026: Usage & Medical Patients
Cannabis Statistics UK 2026: Usage & Medical Patients
How many people use cannabis in the UK? And how many people now access it legally through a medical prescription? Since medical cannabis became available on prescription in 2018, the picture has changed considerably.
The latest official statistics show that cannabis remains the most commonly used illegal drug in England and Wales, while private medical cannabis prescribing has grown rapidly. In this guide, we look at the latest cannabis statistics, who is using cannabis and what the numbers tell us about the growing UK medical cannabis sector.
Contents
How Many People Use Cannabis in the UK?
Cannabis remains the most commonly used illegal drug in England and Wales.
According to the latest Crime Survey for England and Wales, 6.5% of people aged 16 to 59 reported using cannabis in the previous 12 months in the year ending March 2025.
Among people aged 16 to 24, that figure was considerably higher at 12.5% — around one in eight people in that age group.
These are currently the best official figures available, but there is an important distinction: the Crime Survey covers England and Wales rather than the whole of the UK. Articles referring to these figures simply as “UK cannabis use” can therefore give a slightly misleading impression.
How Has Cannabis Use Changed Over Time?
Cannabis use has not simply increased year after year.
The latest ONS data found no statistically significant change in cannabis use among 16 to 59-year-olds compared with the previous year.
The longer-term picture among younger adults is particularly interesting. In the year ending March 2015, 16.4% of 16 to 24-year-olds reported using cannabis during the previous year. By March 2025, that figure had fallen to 12.5%.
So while cannabis remains widely used, the latest statistics do not support the idea that recreational cannabis use is rapidly increasing across every age group.
Which Age Group Uses Cannabis the Most?
Cannabis use is considerably more common among younger adults.
The latest official figures show:
- Ages 16–59: 6.5% reported using cannabis in the previous 12 months.
- Ages 16–24: 12.5% reported using cannabis in the previous 12 months.
That means reported cannabis use among 16 to 24-year-olds was almost twice the overall rate for people aged 16 to 59.
However, the wider ONS drug-use data also shows that differences between age groups have narrowed over time. Drug use among younger people has generally fallen from the much higher levels recorded in the 1990s.
Age therefore remains an important factor in cannabis-use statistics, but the long-term trend is more complicated than simply saying that younger generations are using more cannabis.
How Often Do People Use Cannabis?
Not everyone who reports using cannabis is a regular user.
Among 16 to 59-year-olds who had used cannabis during the previous 12 months, the Crime Survey for England and Wales found that 36.5% used it more than once a month.
Around 10.4% of people who had used cannabis during the previous year reported using it every day.
This distinction matters. Someone reporting cannabis use once or twice during a 12-month period is very different from someone using it every day.
The ONS also specifically warns that frequency of use should not be treated as a measure of drug dependence.
How Many Medical Cannabis Patients Are There in the UK?
This is surprisingly difficult to answer with certainty.
Medical cannabis has been legally available on prescription in the UK since 1 November 2018. However, there is currently no complete government dataset showing exactly how many people receive medical cannabis prescriptions privately.
In a 2025 parliamentary answer, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that patient information is not routinely collected for private prescriptions.
This means we have to distinguish between prescription numbers and estimated patient numbers.
Analysis from the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society estimated that around 80,000 to 90,000 people may have been receiving medical cannabis in the UK, based on private prescription volumes.
That is an informed industry estimate rather than an official government patient count, and the real number will continue to change as the sector grows.
How Quickly Is Medical Cannabis Growing?
Prescription numbers give us a clearer indication of how quickly private medical cannabis treatment has expanded.
According to the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society’s analysis of NHS Business Services Authority data, private medical cannabis prescriptions rose from around 283,000 in 2023 to 659,000 in 2024.
That means prescription volumes more than doubled in a single year.
However, 659,000 prescriptions does not mean 659,000 patients. Medical cannabis is usually prescribed as an ongoing treatment, so one patient may receive multiple repeat prescriptions during a year.
The Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society estimated that if a patient received an average of around eight prescriptions each year, 659,000 prescriptions would equate to approximately 82,000 patients.
The data therefore provides strong evidence that private medical cannabis prescribing is growing quickly, even though an exact national patient count is not currently available.
Why Is Private Medical Cannabis Growing?
Medical cannabis has been legal since 2018, but awareness and access remained relatively limited during the first few years.
Several things have changed since then:
- Greater awareness: More patients now know that medical cannabis can legally be prescribed in the UK.
- More specialist clinics: Private treatment has become easier to access through specialist services and remote consultations.
- Growing clinical experience: More clinicians now have experience assessing and monitoring patients receiving cannabis-based medicines.
- More treatment options: Prescribed medical cannabis is available in different formulations, including flower, oils, pastilles and vape cartridges.
- Greater awareness of eligibility: Patients who have already tried conventional treatments are increasingly exploring whether another treatment pathway could be appropriate.
At CB1 Medical, patients are assessed individually by specialist clinicians. There is no condition that automatically guarantees a prescription.
You can view the range of conditions our clinicians assess on our conditions treated with medical cannabis page.
For a more detailed explanation of the assessment process, read our guide to what conditions qualify for medical cannabis in the UK.
Medical Cannabis vs Recreational Cannabis
One of the most important distinctions these statistics cannot show is the difference between recreational cannabis use and prescribed medical treatment.
Recreational cannabis remains illegal in the UK. Medical cannabis, however, can be legally prescribed when an appropriately qualified specialist clinician decides it is suitable.
A legal medical cannabis prescription involves:
- A review of your medical history and previous treatments.
- Assessment by an appropriately qualified clinician.
- Medication supplied through a regulated pharmacy.
- Known cannabinoid strengths and product information.
- Clinical prescribing limits and dosing guidance.
- Ongoing monitoring and the ability to review treatment.
Cannabis obtained through the illegal market does not provide the same clinical oversight or product controls. Its cannabinoid content, strength and possible contaminants may not be known.
You can learn more about how prescribed treatment works in our medical cannabis patient information guide.
The important distinction is that legal medical cannabis is a prescribed treatment used within a clinical pathway, not simply recreational cannabis made legal.
What Do the Statistics Tell Us About Cannabis Dependence?
Cannabis can cause dependence in some people, particularly with frequent use, but the statistics need to be interpreted carefully.
The latest ONS statistics show that 36.5% of people who had used cannabis in the previous year used it more than monthly, while 10.4% reported daily use.
However, the Office for National Statistics specifically states that frequency of use is not a measure of dependence.
For a better picture of dependence, the NHS Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2023/24 provides more detailed information.
That survey found that signs of drug dependence among 16 to 64-year-olds increased from 3.8% in 2014 to 6.7% in 2023/24. The increase was largely associated with a rise in adults reporting signs of dependence related to cannabis.
Looking specifically at cannabis, signs of dependence related to cannabis use increased from 2.8% in 2014 to 5.4% in 2023/24.
These statistics relate to illicit and non-medical drug use rather than patients following an individual medical cannabis prescription.
Prescribed medical cannabis still needs careful monitoring. Clinicians should consider the patient’s medical history, mental health, current medicines, dose and response to treatment when deciding whether prescribing remains appropriate.
What Could Happen Next?
One of the clearest trends in the data is not a sudden rise in recreational cannabis use. It is the growth of the legal medical cannabis sector.
Cannabis use among younger adults remains below the level recorded a decade ago, while private medical cannabis prescription volumes have increased significantly.
At the same time, the lack of comprehensive patient-level private prescribing data makes it difficult to say exactly how many people are now receiving treatment.
The Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed that patient information is not routinely collected for private prescriptions.
Better national data would make it easier to understand who is receiving medical cannabis, which conditions are being treated, how access is changing and how the legal market is developing.
Final Thoughts
The latest cannabis statistics paint a more nuanced picture than headlines about cannabis use often suggest.
Cannabis remains the most commonly used illegal drug in England and Wales, with 6.5% of 16 to 59-year-olds reporting use during the year ending March 2025.
Among 16 to 24-year-olds, the figure was higher at 12.5%, although cannabis use in this age group has fallen from the 16.4% recorded a decade earlier.
At the same time, legal medical cannabis has moved from a little-known treatment pathway to a rapidly growing area of private healthcare. Private prescription volumes increased from around 283,000 in 2023 to 659,000 in 2024.
Current estimates suggest around 80,000 to 90,000 patients may have been receiving medical cannabis, although there is still no official national count of private patients.
The key distinction remains simple: recreational cannabis is illegal in the UK, while medical cannabis can be legally prescribed as part of an individual, specialist-led treatment plan.
Curious if You’re Eligible?
If you have a long-term condition and have already tried recognised treatments, use our free eligibility checker to see whether taking the next step with CB1 Medical could be appropriate for you.
