Cancard was pitched as a simple way to show that you use weed for medical purposes. Pay £30 for an official looking plastic card, flash it to the cops if they ever bother you, and walk away with your flower intact. Sounds great.
Except now the UK’s biggest patient-led watchdog has reported the scheme to the police, saying that card is essentially useless and could put vulnerable patients at risk.
Patients vs. Plastic
PatientsCann UK, an independent medical-cannabis advocacy collective, has reported the scheme to police forces across in the UK.
Their claim is that Cancard is sowing mass confusion, getting legitimate patients criminalised, and crucially, offering zero legal protection under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
They’ve filed reports with reference numbers and everything (Met Police: CAD 6670/18JUN2025 if you fancy a read).
“This confusion is dangerous and unacceptable,” fumes PatientsCann founder Mohammad Wasway to Leafie.
“Patients are being criminalised or dismissed by authorities for following the law, just because they don’t carry a private membership card that holds no legal weight.”
How Cancard Got Here
Cancard’s pitch is simple. As thousands of Brits can’t afford a private prescription, they can get a card that verifies their condition (think GP letters, symptom logs) and which frontline cops can then see.
It’s hoped to dissuade the police from arresting the patient or confiscating their medicine – even if the cannabis was bought from the black market.
The company boasts 30,000 members and says 98 percent of police stops end with “no further action.”
The initiative was thought up by medical cannabis patient Carly Barton in collaboration with doctors and has the public backing of several MPS and senior police representatives.
Cissie Scorey, Cancard’s director, tells leafie she’s unfazed by the latest developments: “This isn’t our first rodeo… The tip of the spear always takes the most heat.” Translation: Haters gonna hate.
Where It Goes Sideways
But PatientsCann says that “discretion” isn’t codified anywhere. Officers can, and do, ignore the card.
Worse, some are reportedly seizing legally-dispensed cannabis because patients didn’t happen to own one, flipping the whole logic on its head.
Meanwhile, uninsured users brandishing Cancards think they’re shielded and end up with court dates. That two-way confusion, PatientsCann argues, muddles the fragile trust ecosystem they’re trying to grow.
What Happens Next?
Police across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are now probing Cancard for false claims and potential exploitation of vulnerable patients. No formal charges yet, but the paper trail is growing.
If you’ve been stung, script or no script, PatientsCann wants you dialling 101 and report it.
Cancard sprang from a very real pain point: the UK’s legal-prescription route is still pricey and patchy. But any workaround lives or dies on clarity.
So, is Cancard a useful pioneer or a useless piece of plastic?
The next few months should tell us.
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