Bristol Medical School approves new medical cannabis teaching placement
February 16, 2026 | IN NEWS | BY Kate Thorpe
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:
- How medical cannabis works, including the role of the endocannabinoid system in human physiology
- Clarifying the distinction between prescribed medical cannabis and non-medical or illicit use
- The clinical indications for which medical cannabis is currently prescribed in the UK
- How medical cannabis fits into wider clinical practice, including how patients access treatment within established UK governance frameworks.
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:
- A national medical student essay competition
- A structured medical cannabis elective placement
- £1 annual membership for medical students, providing access to education, events, and peer discussion
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.