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Medical schools give students a limited but important amount of protected time to explore subjects outside the core curriculum. Student-selected modules and placements are often the only opportunity students have to step beyond exam-driven learning, follow their curiosity, and engage with areas of medicine that are still evolving.

Legal under prescription in the UK since 2018, medical cannabis is an actively evolving area of practice. While increasingly relevant to everyday clinical practice, it remains poorly covered in undergraduate medical education.

A new student choice placement for 2026

Dr David Tang, Consultant in Emergency Medicine and member of the MCCS Expert Committee, has had his Year 3 MBChB Student Choice placement submission accepted by Bristol Medical School. The placement, Understanding Medical Cannabis: Mechanisms, Indications and Clinical Integration, will be offered to students in 2026.

Dr Tang explains;“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. 

But, most medical students still graduate with little understanding of the endocannabinoid system, prescribing frameworks, or how medical cannabis fits into regulated care pathways.

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.”

The placement has been formally approved by Bristol Medical School and will be offered to Year 3 MBChB students as part of their student-selected studies, with allocation due to take place in February 2026.

What the placement will focus on

The placement introduces students to medical cannabis as a regulated therapeutic intervention within UK clinical practice. Structured around three core themes, mechanisms, indications, and clinical integration, the placement will cover:

Teaching will be delivered through seminar-based sessions and facilitated group discussion. Subject to final arrangements, the placement may also include a visit to an EU GMP-licensed medical cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facility, providing insight into how these products are produced to pharmaceutical standards for clinical use.

Part of a wider commitment to students

Dr Tang’s new medical student placement is part of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society’s wider commitment to supporting students and early-career clinicians.

Alongside this module, the Society offers:

These initiatives are about giving students access to good information early, space to ask proper questions, and the confidence to engage with an emerging area of medicine thoughtfully and professionally, as it continues to evolve.

Join the Society today.

The Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society is inviting students to enter a national essay competition exploring one of the most pressing and misunderstood issues in UK healthcare: why access to medical cannabis through the NHS remains so limited, and what wider NHS prescribing could mean in practice.

Medical cannabis has been legal in the UK under prescription since 2018. Yet only a very small number of patients have received NHS prescriptions, with the vast majority accessing treatment privately. This disconnect between legal status and NHS practice raises serious clinical, regulatory, ethical and economic questions. We want students to interrogate those issues and bring fresh, critical thinking to a debate that is far from settled.

The essay question is;

“The prescribing of medical cannabis has been legal in the UK since 2018. Since then, there have been hundreds of thousands of prescriptions for unlicensed medical cannabis products. For a condition of your choice, evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of medical cannabis as a treatment option.”

You are not expected to have specialist knowledge of cannabinoid pharmacology or the endocannabinoid system. What matters most is your ability to think critically, weigh evidence, recognise trade-offs, and communicate clearly.

Why enter?

This competition is an opportunity to:

Whether you are interested in clinical practice, health policy, ethics, research or wider healthcare systems, this is a chance to contribute meaningfully to an important conversation.

Who can enter

The competition is open to currently enrolled students. Essays will be judged relative to your level of study.

We welcome submissions from students in:

Proof of student status may be requested.

What we are looking for

Essays must be your own original work. The use of AI tools, collaboration with others, or submission of previously assessed coursework is not permitted. Any breach will result in disqualification from this and future MCCS essay competitions.

Essays will be assessed on:

We are particularly interested in essays that engage with real-world constraints and tensions, such as NHS commissioning, evidence thresholds, clinician confidence, patient safety, stigma, cost, and health inequality, alongside potential clinical and system-wide benefits.

Submissions must be received by Friday 22 May 2026 at 11.59pm (GMT). Essays will be reviewed and winners announced on Friday 26 June 2026.

Prizes and recognition

First prize includes an exclusive From Plant to Prescription educational visit to an EU GMP-licensed facility, offering practical insight into how pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis is produced and regulated. The winning essay will be published as a primary feature on the MCCS website, accompanied by an interview, and the winner will receive a free place on Medical Cannabis Explained: Become a Confident Prescriber, hosted by Professor Mike Barnes, alongside a free first-year MCCS student membership and a certificate of achievement.

Second and third prize winners will also receive a free place on Medical Cannabis Explained: Become a Confident Prescriber, hosted by Professor Mike Barnes, a free first-year MCCS student membership, and a certificate of achievement. The second prize essay will be published as a secondary feature on the MCCS website.

Judging panel

Essays will be reviewed by an MCCS-appointed panel, including:

Entries will be judged relative to level of study. The judges’ decision is final.

How to submit your essay 

Email your essay as a PDF to contact@ukmccs.org. By submitting an entry, you confirm that you have read and agree to the rules set out here. With your submission, you must include the Essay Cover Sheet (Word Doc download).

Key dates

Please include:

Ready to take part?

If you want to test your thinking, build your academic profile, and contribute to an evidence-led debate that matters to patients and clinicians alike, we encourage you to enter.

Submissions are now open.

 

We are pleased to introduce Ariyan Makhecha, the Society’s most recent medical student to complete the MCCS Medical Cannabis Student Elective.

Ariyan joined us for week placement, taking part in clinical observation, industry visits, structured teaching, and international events, gaining a rare insight into one of the fastest-developing areas of medicine.

As part of the programme, Ariyan has written a reflective blog about his experience, which you can read below. Applications for 2026 are now open. If you’re a medical student interested in taking part in next year’s MCCS Medical Cannabis Elective, you can find full details and application information here. We welcome early enquiries and encourage students from all backgrounds to explore this unique learning opportunity.

Inside my elective with the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society

My elective placement with the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society provided me with an outstanding opportunity to study one of the most dynamic and evolving fields of medicine. At the very beginning, I received structured teaching on the endocannabinoid system and its clinical importance, as well as an overview of ethical and legal framework associated with the prescription of medical cannabis. This provided me with a good knowledge base to make the most of the rest of the placement.

I attended remote consultations where I had the opportunity to view various clinics, such as pain management consultations, psychiatric consultations, and follow-ups and new patient visits. Learning about the practical uses of medical cannabis in treating numerous diseases and the medical practitioners developing tailored treatment plans, demonstrated the potential of cannabis-based medicines as a treatment approach and the importance of safe and evidence-based prescribing.

I also had the chance to visit pharmaceutical facilities located all around the United Kingdom, and that is where I learnt a lot about how medical cannabis is grown, processed, and distributed. The importance of quality control, standardisation and regulatory compliance in ensuring that patients obtain safe and reliable therapies was emphasised throughout my time at these sites.

Networking was yet another invaluable part of this elective. I had the opportunity to meet with import and export companies specialists, pharmaceutical representatives, and medical specialists, who gave great information and individual perspectives on the interdisciplinary nature of the medical cannabis industry. The ability to network with such a diverse range of professionals helped me recognise how important it is foe industry leaders, research, politics, and medical experts to collaborate with each other to enhance patient care.

The most memorable experience of the elective experience was attending two international conferences, Mary Jane and the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) in Berlin. ICBC gave me the chance to meet professionals, leaders in the sectors of agriculture, genetics, lighting, fertilizers, curing, drying, sterilisation and packaging from all over the world. I was able to gain a lot of through specialised seminars delivered by industry experts. One talk which stood out to me was one that discussed the impact of plant irradiation on terpene profiles.

I chose to explore further through wider academic reading which memebers of the MCCS supported me through and hence I was able to better understand the usefulness of terpenes in relation to cannabinoids, exploring potential combinations between them and the rationale behind different patient/professional attitudes toward the two. Along with broadening my clinical knowledge on cannabis, this elective allowed me to understand better the significance of ethical practice, and the global implications of medical cannabis.

I also learned its role in illnesses such as epilepsy and chronic pain and the risks, precautions and monitoring necessary to prescribe it safely. Taking the time to understand how perspectives and legislation are changing across nations in Europe, the Americas, and South East Asia, also provided me with further insight as to the history and the global policy landscape regarding medical cannabis and its future.

Why the MCCS Elective Stands Out

I would describe my experience with the MCCS as nothing short of incredible. It gave me the chance to learn through clinical observation, research, and exposure to the industry as well as international networking all in a single placement.

I would wholeheartedly recommend the MCCS elective to anyone who wants to learn more about medical cannabis as this placement provides a unique opportunity to gain exposure to an industry that is shaping the future of medical therapies whilst also being a priceless learning experience.

Ariyan Makhecha, MCCS Student elective 2024/25

The Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society is a physician and expert-led nonprofit society dedicated to the education of clinicians on the topic of medical cannabis and therapeutic cannabinoids dedicated to supporting the medical and scientific community in the UK and globally with high-quality education, peer support and training to benefit patients who are suitable for this class of medication as an option.

We’re seeking Masters-level Information & Library Studies Research Student to lead a project for the Society.

The project

As our main remit is education, we aim to provide a searchable research database for medical cannabis and cannabinoid studies that have been published in peer-reviewed journals. This ranges from case reports and observational data sets through to RCTs and meta-analysis searchable by keyword or clinical/therapeutic area where cannabinoid-based medicines are being used.

In Canada, Vice-Chair Dr. Gordon worked with a master of library studies research student from the University of British Columbia in Canada on creating such a database for another area of medicine and this project was very successful.  We hope to complete a similar project with a student here in the UK. In the past, Dr. Gordon acted as the clinical mentor/supervisor for the student over two semesters and the project was completed as part of their curriculum.  The student was able to gain successful employment upon graduation immediately using this project as the showcase in their portfolio and recommendations from Dr. Gordon as well as being able to show their work on leading this project.

Why it is needed

Currently, there is no unbiased source of information for clinicians where they can search for the most up to date and also the most relevant peer-reviewed research in this topic area, which is still quite new and considered by many, a controversial area of medicine.

This service and capability is absolutely essential to ensuring clinicians have up-to-date information at their fingertips to help support their prescribing decisions in this area and keep abreast of new studies and findings to guide both clinical decisions as well as support policy change and continuing medical education needs.  Currently, many patients seeking medical cannabis for a treatment-resistant chronic illness in the UK are coming to their doctors knowing more about the published evidence base than their clinician.

Why we need you

The MCCS is run on a volunteer basis by leading expert physicians who also work full-time in their practices and do not have the database building technical skill set or time scales for the completion of this project.  Because we are a not-for-profit organisation with limited funds, we are unable to seek out a commercial partner to complete this project.

Apply now

To apply for the position, please contact the Society by emailing contact@ukmccs.org with a cover letter which details your interest and qualifications. Expenses will be paid as part of this work and you will receive full support.