Words by Dr Sue Clenton, Medical Director, Releaf
Over the past year, we’ve seen medical cannabis move from the margins toward the mainstream — not through media headlines or marketing campaigns, but in clinics, in consultations, and in the steady accumulation of patient outcomes.
At Releaf, we’re now caring for over 3,000 new patients each month. And yet, we still operate in a system where the British Medical Association, Royal Colleges, and many NHS Trusts continue to treat this field with suspicion. That scepticism is rooted less in malice and more in the absence of familiarity — a lack of structured training, insufficient high-quality data, and few touchpoints with the private clinics driving this work forward.
But that’s changing. Quietly and systematically.
For us, clinical excellence is not a slogan — it’s defined by one simple standard: every patient outcome should feel as though they’re our only patient. That mindset must remain constant, even as our numbers grow.
We maintain this by embedding best practice from both traditional healthcare and the commercial world: structured governance, multi-disciplinary team reviews, incident logging, and continuous patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Alongside this, we’ve built a proprietary HealthTech platform to manage consultations, prescriptions, and pharmacy fulfilment in one seamless system — reducing risk and improving communication throughout the patient journey .
Where the NHS has legacy systems, we’ve built our own. Where others rely on manual workarounds, we invest in design and integration.
Dr Sue Clenton, Medical Director, Releaf
There is growing discussion around whether cannabis clinics should integrate into traditional referral pathways or remain as standalone services. Our view is pragmatic: integration is the long-term goal, but we’re not there yet.
Currently, the depth of clinical knowledge around CBMPs resides almost entirely within the private sector. NHS referrals and public funding for specific patient groups would be a welcome development. But in the absence of widespread clinical training or large-scale trials, expecting Trusts or CCGs to incorporate cannabis-based treatments into routine care is premature.
Instead, we continue to do the work — collecting outcome data, publishing studies, and partnering with academic groups such as the University of Leeds on long COVID research. We must build credibility through outcomes, not opinion.
A Hybrid model may emerge in time: specialist clinics with NHS referral links and joint data-sharing initiatives. But this will only become viable once mainstream medicine is equipped — structurally and culturally — to engage.
A responsible cannabis clinic should not only deliver positive patient outcomes but do so reliably, safely, and at scale.
That means uninterrupted access to high-quality, consistent medication. It means a Clinical Team trained to the highest standards — ours includes over 26 doctors — and a patient support model that’s responsive and empathetic .
It also means taking seriously our responsibilities around transparency and sustainability. We’re regulated by the CQC. We maintain an uninterrupted supply chain, including access to the first UK-grown CBMP. And we never oversell or overpromise.
Not all clinics operate at this standard. In the next 12–18 months, we expect the sector to segment: a small group of high-performing, patient-first providers — and a growing number who fall short. The market will ultimately judge.
For all the progress, professional stigma remains. Many clinicians still view CBMPs with caution, some with disdain. But we believe the only way to change minds is by showing, not telling.
That means presenting clear outcome data. It means speaking openly with regulators and sceptical clinicians. And it means acknowledging where more work is needed — particularly in medical education, transparency, and trial design.
At Releaf, we make the case through rigour and results. We don’t seek to convince through noise or pressure. We invite our critics in, share our evidence, and listen in return. Because ultimately, patients deserve more than opinion — they deserve care that works, backed by data and delivered with integrity.
This sector has come a long way in five years. But we’re still early in the journey. If cannabis-based medicine is to become a standard part of the UK treatment landscape, we must continue raising the bar — clinically, operationally, and reputationally.
For now, the expertise remains private. That may not always be the case. But we’ll continue to lead from the front until the system is ready to catch up.
The post From Scepticism to Standard: Reimagining the Role of Cannabis Clinics in UK Healthcare appeared first on Cannabis Health News.
Continue reading...
Over the past year, we’ve seen medical cannabis move from the margins toward the mainstream — not through media headlines or marketing campaigns, but in clinics, in consultations, and in the steady accumulation of patient outcomes.
At Releaf, we’re now caring for over 3,000 new patients each month. And yet, we still operate in a system where the British Medical Association, Royal Colleges, and many NHS Trusts continue to treat this field with suspicion. That scepticism is rooted less in malice and more in the absence of familiarity — a lack of structured training, insufficient high-quality data, and few touchpoints with the private clinics driving this work forward.
But that’s changing. Quietly and systematically.
Defining Clinical Excellence in a New Category
For us, clinical excellence is not a slogan — it’s defined by one simple standard: every patient outcome should feel as though they’re our only patient. That mindset must remain constant, even as our numbers grow.
We maintain this by embedding best practice from both traditional healthcare and the commercial world: structured governance, multi-disciplinary team reviews, incident logging, and continuous patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Alongside this, we’ve built a proprietary HealthTech platform to manage consultations, prescriptions, and pharmacy fulfilment in one seamless system — reducing risk and improving communication throughout the patient journey .
Where the NHS has legacy systems, we’ve built our own. Where others rely on manual workarounds, we invest in design and integration.
Dr Sue Clenton, Medical Director, Releaf
The Integration Dilemma: To Embed or Remain Distinct?
There is growing discussion around whether cannabis clinics should integrate into traditional referral pathways or remain as standalone services. Our view is pragmatic: integration is the long-term goal, but we’re not there yet.
Currently, the depth of clinical knowledge around CBMPs resides almost entirely within the private sector. NHS referrals and public funding for specific patient groups would be a welcome development. But in the absence of widespread clinical training or large-scale trials, expecting Trusts or CCGs to incorporate cannabis-based treatments into routine care is premature.
Instead, we continue to do the work — collecting outcome data, publishing studies, and partnering with academic groups such as the University of Leeds on long COVID research. We must build credibility through outcomes, not opinion.
A Hybrid model may emerge in time: specialist clinics with NHS referral links and joint data-sharing initiatives. But this will only become viable once mainstream medicine is equipped — structurally and culturally — to engage.
What “Good” Looks Like in 2025
A responsible cannabis clinic should not only deliver positive patient outcomes but do so reliably, safely, and at scale.
That means uninterrupted access to high-quality, consistent medication. It means a Clinical Team trained to the highest standards — ours includes over 26 doctors — and a patient support model that’s responsive and empathetic .
It also means taking seriously our responsibilities around transparency and sustainability. We’re regulated by the CQC. We maintain an uninterrupted supply chain, including access to the first UK-grown CBMP. And we never oversell or overpromise.
Not all clinics operate at this standard. In the next 12–18 months, we expect the sector to segment: a small group of high-performing, patient-first providers — and a growing number who fall short. The market will ultimately judge.
Building Trust Where It Matters Most
For all the progress, professional stigma remains. Many clinicians still view CBMPs with caution, some with disdain. But we believe the only way to change minds is by showing, not telling.
That means presenting clear outcome data. It means speaking openly with regulators and sceptical clinicians. And it means acknowledging where more work is needed — particularly in medical education, transparency, and trial design.
At Releaf, we make the case through rigour and results. We don’t seek to convince through noise or pressure. We invite our critics in, share our evidence, and listen in return. Because ultimately, patients deserve more than opinion — they deserve care that works, backed by data and delivered with integrity.
Staying the Course
This sector has come a long way in five years. But we’re still early in the journey. If cannabis-based medicine is to become a standard part of the UK treatment landscape, we must continue raising the bar — clinically, operationally, and reputationally.
For now, the expertise remains private. That may not always be the case. But we’ll continue to lead from the front until the system is ready to catch up.
The post From Scepticism to Standard: Reimagining the Role of Cannabis Clinics in UK Healthcare appeared first on Cannabis Health News.
Continue reading...
