MedCan Project

Set up by Dr Lindsey Metcalf McGrath and Dr Helen Beckett Wilson (Criminology), MedCanProject is focused on the experiences of people who need cannabis medicine. Cannabis prescribing was legalised in 2018 in the UK, but remains otherwise criminalised.

The first phase of our qualitative research focused on the experiences of people with a legal prescription. People prescribed cannabis reported significant improvements to their health and quality of life. However, they face health inequalities (due to the lack of NHS prescribing) and they experience stigma (due to persisting cannabis myths and stereotypes).

We created a short film to summarise our research findings, which have also been published in the International Journal of Drug Policy and in Critical Social Policy. We are committed to sharing patient stories with academics, policymakers, practitioners and the public, to raise awareness and to reduce the stigma of this important medicine. This culminated in us attending parliament to address the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cannabis under Prescription in January 2024. We were also delighted to win the VC Award for Excellence in Research and Knowledge Exchange in recognition of this work.

There remains a lack of awareness about the change in the law among the public and among policing and health professionals.  We are working with colleagues in Policing and soon will pilot some training on medical cannabis for the PCDA cohort. This is direct response to our research findings and other evidence of the need for more training for professionals.

The second phase of our research focuses on the experiences of people taking cannabis for medical purposes, without a prescription. It is estimated that over 1.8 million people in the UK are in this situation (Nutt, 2021). You can find our call for research participants here.

Publications

Metcalf McGrath, L. and Beckett Wilson, H. (2024) Stigmatised and stressed: UK cannabis patients living in the context of prohibition, Critical Social Policy [Online First].

Beckett Wilson, H. and Metcalf McGrath, L. (2023) “It's a big added stress on top of being so ill”: The challenges facing people prescribed cannabis in the UK, International Journal of Drug Policy, Vol.122.

Metcalf McGrath, L. and Beckett Wilson, H. (2023) Prescribed but prohibited: UK cannabis patients face stigma and health inequalities, Everyday Society (British Sociological Association).

Beckett Wilson, H. and Metcalf McGrath, L. (2023) Living in limbo: The experiences of UK patients who are prescribed cannabis, Volteface.

Discover our film, publications, podcast and media reports.