Welcome to MC Friendly
Our mission is to promote and share safe and welcoming environments, where patient rights are upheld and venue teams are enabled to grow in understanding of UK law in relation to medicinal cannabis.
MC Friendly’s creation was fired up and driven by experiencing real world stigma following becoming a medicinal cannabis patient to treat . This resulted in difficulty and unease simply trying to get on with the day. These experiences were challenging though led to some very interesting conversations, acceptance (or not) and learning the level of positive change that can be achieved through respectful and open communication.
The realisation that nearly 100,000 patients across the UK were likely having similar or even more challenging experiences could simply no longer be ignored, and so here we are now connecting and supporting people and places every day across the country.
Use of the website, locating venues as well as venue registration is entirely free of charge and this will remain core to our ethos as we grow.
Our community is you and by onboarding your own local venues, you can be a part of this incredible cultural re-alignment (formal registration must be completed by the venue owner/proprietor or appropriate staff member only.) Polite conversation with potential venue teams is hugely welcomed and massively appreciated and our feedback suggests this often leads to your favourite local venues becoming MC Friendly!
Support and advice for venues is a central part of our service, providing guidance around current law and patient rights. Although UK law already protects patient rights for prescribed medication use wherever and whenever is required under the Equality Act 2010, the reality for many people, is that venue staff and sometimes members of the public aren’t aware of the current situation leading to stigmatised responses that don’t uphold patient’s medical and legal rights.
Cafes, shops and holiday accommodation is just the beginning… In fact if you have a venue open to the public, then you can officially be MC Friendly!
Read on for a little history and some further information…
Cannabis and us..
Cannabis is a plant and herb native to various regions of the planet, having likely first evolved on the Tibetan plateau some 28 million years ago. Humans are known to have used cannabis for medicine, textiles, food, fuel, ritual and pleasure for around 12 thousand years.
The possession and supply of cannabis were made illegal in the UK in 1928. This followed a period of widely available cannabis based products prescribed through the Victorian era and beyond including tinctures, pills and extracts taken orally. It was considered a wonder remedy, being antispasmodic as well as being used for insomnia and pain relief.
Prohibition lasted for ninety years between 1928 and 2018 (which is less than 1% of the total time of known human medicinal use) In November 2018, the UK government rescheduled cannabis based products for medicinal use from schedule 1 to schedule 2 of the misuse of drugs regulations, allowing them to be legally prescribed once again. This followed successful government lobbying by Charlotte Caldwell, who’s huge efforts around ensuring the best possible care for her son’s epilepsy led to government recognition of cannabis as a medicine once again. This marked the end of prohibition and was essentially the re-legalisation of cannabis for medicinal use.
Today’s medicinal cannabis products in the UK are known as CBPM’s - ‘Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal use’. These are almost entirely prescribed privately as an unlicensed medicine, as although CBPM’s have been legal to prescribe since November 2018, only a literal handful of these are made available via the NHS due to NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines not keeping pace with real world patient need.
Due to the schedule 1 status originally applied by the government back in 1928, cannabis formally and legislatively (though not actually) became a very dangerous drug with no recognised medical use or benefit. This message was maintained over multiple generations, eventually leading to a cultural shift and collective stigma pushing any cannabis use into a socially unacceptable periphery. This combined with natural demand being met by criminals controlling supply due to prohibition and no quality control whatsoever, gave plenty of fuel for alarmist news headlines and articles, which ironically highlighted the dangers caused by prohibition, rather than any dangers of the cannabis plant itself. These stigmas were deeply ingrained, and sadly are still very much part of society, negatively impacting legal medicinal cannabis users today.
Prescribed medication in the UK is carried and used by millions of people every day. Legal CBPM users are protected by the same laws written into the equality act 2010 that are designed to protect all patient’s rights. In the same way that an asthmatic person can use their inhaler, or a diabetic person can administer insulin, this legislation enables patients to carry and use their prescribed medicine in public including indoor environments without fear of arrest or prosecution. The police in the UK were formally updated by the National Police Chief’s Council via the ‘Medical Cannabis - police guidance and formal policy’ published in February 2025 further protecting patients and now fully implemented.
Administration of all CBPM’s is either by heated nebulisers (which look similar to an inhaler or vape) or ingesting prescribed pastilles or oils in edible form. Light smells and visible vapour can occur and sadly can sometimes lead to confusion or even stigmatised behaviour from others. Legal use of CBPM’s is always smoke free - combustion of any kind isn’t legal use - even if prescribed!
Due to every one of us having an inbuilt endocannabinoid system, CBPM’s can be tailored to the individual or chosen specifically for their exact needs. CBPM’s can therefore be effective for a broad range of health conditions. THC and CBD levels vary greatly in medicinal cannabis products, as do other cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids. This enables patients to ‘dial in’ effects for their exact needs. A synergistic function known as the entourage effect means that the positive effects of CBPM components can have a greater effect than the sum of their parts, benefitting the patient in the exact way they require to best manage their health. Different strains have different effects with significant variations, such as energy and focus, as well as the more widely known effects such as pain relief, inflammation reduction, sleep promotion or appetite stimulation.
The team at MC Friendly strive to promote full acceptance of responsible legal CBPM use among the wider public, as well as providing support and learning for venue teams and proprietors around best practice. As the MC Friendly community builds, broader acceptance and understanding will follow. We welcome you on this journey and thank you for for being part of this incredible cultural and wellness re-alignment!
