Bristol Medical School has formally approved what is believed to be one of the first student-selected medical cannabis teaching placements offered by a UK university.
The move marks a significant step forward for undergraduate education in an area of practice that remains widely under-taught.
Despite medical cannabis being legal under prescription in the UK since 2018, education for medical students on the endocannabinoid system and prescribing frameworks is still not typically included in undergraduate curricula.
The new placement, Understanding Medical Cannabis: Mechanisms, Indications and Clinical Integration, will be offered to Year 3 MBChB students as part of their student-selected studies, with allocation due to take place in February 2026.
Improving understanding of medical cannabis
The programme has been developed by Dr David Tang, a Consultant in Emergency Medicine and member of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society (MCCS) Expert Committee.
It will introduce students to medical cannabis as a regulated therapeutic intervention within UK clinical practice, covering themes such as:
- How medical cannabis works, including the role of the endocannabinoid system in human physiology
- Clarifying the distinction between prescribed medical cannabis and non-medical or illicit use
- The clinical indications for which medical cannabis is currently prescribed in the UK
- How medical cannabis fits into wider clinical practice, including how patients access treatment within established UK governance frameworks.
“As a first-year medical student in 2000, I chose a module on cannabinoid therapeutics as part of my course. Twenty-six years later, medical cannabis is prescribed legally in the UK, patients are asking about it every day, and clinicians are encountering it across multiple specialties,” Dr Tang explains.
“But most medical students still graduate with little understanding of the endocannabinoid system, prescribing frameworks, or how medical cannabis fits into regulated care pathways.”
Teaching will be delivered through seminar-based sessions and facilitated group discussion.
Subject to final arrangements, the placement may also offer students the opportunity to visit an EU GMP-licensed medical cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facility, to provide insight into how these products are produced to pharmaceutical standards.
Dr Tang adds: “I think that medical graduates should leave university with a basic, evidence-informed understanding of how medical cannabis works, what it may be prescribed for, and where to find reliable guidance.
“This matters – whether or not they ever go on to prescribe it themselves, because it supports safer clinical conversations, better decision-making, and more informed patient care.”
A wider commitment to future clinicians
The placement comes as part of a wider commitment from the MCCS— a leading medical cannabis training provider for healthcare professionals—to support medical students and early-career clinicians engaging with cannabinoid medicine.
The Society has recently launched a national essay competition, exploring the theme of medical cannabis and NHS access, which is open to all students in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, nursing and allied health professions, biomedical and life sciences, and health policy, ethics, law, and related disciplines.
First prize includes a visit to an EU GMP-licensed facility, offering practical insight into how pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis is produced and regulated, as well as a free place on the Society’s flagship training programme and an annual MCCS membership. Find out more here.
