Medical Cannabis Awareness Week (MCAW) returns from 1 to 8 November 2026, with three patient advocacy groups co-hosting the programme for the first time. The theme this year is Together for Patients, and the organisers say the week aims to improve access to prescribed cannabis and challenge the stigma patients still face, as first reported by leafie.

The programme includes 22 sessions, most of them free and online, as well as in-person gatherings and an awareness protest at Downing Street. Medicinal Cannabis UK (MCUK), United Patients Alliance (UPA) and PatientsCann UK are jointly organising events that bring patients into discussions with clinicians, researchers and the wider industry.

The week begins on the eighth anniversary of the law change of 1 November 2018, which allowed specialist doctors to prescribe cannabis-based medicines in the UK. The organisers say access, affordability and gaps in understanding among healthcare professionals remain challenges, alongside patients’ concerns about travelling with their medication or using it in public. NHS prescriptions remain rare, and most patients use private clinics.

MCAW began in 2020 as a way for patients and others to share their lived experiences, both positive and negative. This year’s campaign encourages groups to work together even where their views differ.

Lee Bailey, deputy managing director of Medicinal Cannabis UK, said: "You just need to care about making things better for patients and be up for working together where we can."

Patient stories and questions for clinics

UPA will open the week on 1 November with a 90-minute live panel titled "Why I Became a Patient". The next day, clinics will discuss the reality of accessing treatment eight years after the law changed, and patients will be able to put questions to them in an "Ask the Clinic" segment.

A session on 3 November will ask why so few NHS doctors prescribe medical cannabis. On 4 November, MCUK will host a session on cannabis-based medicines, how they act in the body and the current evidence. An international discussion will compare access in different countries, and a later community session will bring patients together with clinics, producers and other organisations.

On 6 November, UPA will host a virtual seminar called "Grow Your Own", which the organisers describe as focused on patient advocacy and how a legal framework could be established to give patients more autonomy over where they source their medicinal cannabis. Home growing of cannabis remains illegal in the UK.

Clark French, founder of United Patients Alliance, said: "We are stronger when we put our differences aside and focus on the bigger picture."

Elizabeth Spence, patient advocate and lead of Women’s Cannabis UK, said the 2018 change showed what is possible when patients work together, and that it was now time to build on it with policy and a framework to protect and grow the patient community.

In-person events and the Downing Street protest

PatientsCann UK is organising gatherings at the Burn Pit Lounge in Derry on 2 November, Chongyz Lounge in Liverpool on 3 November and Cosmic Tree in Gloucester on 6 November. The Liverpool event costs £5 to enter, and attendees are asked to bring proof of prescription and identification. The Gloucester event will include live terpene analysis.

On 7 November, PatientsCann UK plans a static protest at Downing Street from 2pm to 6pm. UPA will also present its proposed campaign agenda for 2027 to 2030 that day. On 1 November, the group’s motorsports team will compete in a race at Standlake Arena in Oxfordshire.

The week closes at 7pm on 8 November with an MCUK event featuring questions and answers, reflections on the week and plans for next year. MCUK sessions are free to book through Eventbrite. Patients, carers and family members can submit their experiences through the campaign website, and organisations can offer to host sessions. Full listings are on the MCAW programme page.