1.4 million cannabis users in UK

More than a million people are using cannabis illegally to self-medicate in the UK, according to a new YouGov poll. The survey found that there are 1.4 million users (1.5% of the population), half of which take the drug every day. The total spend on black market cannabis is an estimated £2.6 billion every year.

Cannabis usage was found across all demographics of society, with many people reporting that they take it for a range of illnesses. The poll found one fifth of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) self-medicate with the drug, so do 40 percent of people with Huntingdon’s disease. Almost a quarter of a million people with arthritis buy cannabis, 100,000 cancer patients, and well as people suffering from depression, anxiety and epilepsy.

The results are published in a report called ‘Left Behind – The Scale of Illegal Cannabis Use for Medicinal Intent’, by the Centre of Medicinal Cannabis. It states that the use of cannabis ‘unnecessarily exposes’ users to significant personal risk, and calls on the government to review policies that block suffers from accessing cannabis medicines legally.