{
  "id": 17604106,
  "title": "The UK’s legal cannabis market is booming – so why can’t this talented artist get any to treat his epilepsy? | Kojo Koram",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/the-uks-legal-cannabis-market-is-booming-so-why-cant-this-talented",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-01T12:33:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Science",
    "slug": "guardian-science",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/nov/01/uk-legal-cannabis-market-booming-louis-petit-epilepsy"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The UK's legal cannabis market has seen a boom in recent years, but this has left some patients, like talented young artist Louis Petit, struggling to access the drug they need to manage serious conditions. Petit, who was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy as a young child, moved to the Netherlands to seek medical cannabis treatment in the 2010s. When he returned to the UK in 2022, he found that the NHS was still refusing to prescribe cannabis-based medication, despite the drug's legal status for medicinal use. This has left Petit relying on expensive private treatments, and now, the producer of one popular medical cannabis oil, Bedrocan, has declared bankruptcy, threatening to cut off his supply entirely. Despite the government's promises to help patients in need, only a fraction of those who require medical cannabis actually receive it through the NHS, leaving many to depend on the private sector at great cost. With no accessible NHS route for most patients, the private market has become the go-to source for cannabis treatment, and the industry has seen significant growth, with companies capitalizing on its popularity as a wellness treatment. The government has largely ignored the issue, leaving patients to face an uncertain future.",
  "summary": "Companies have rushed to supply the drug as a wellness treatment, but patients with serious illnesses aren’t able to get NHS prescriptions In 2022, a prodigiously talented young artist named Louis Petit was preparing to return to the UK, having been effectively exiled in the Netherlands as a teenager so he could access the medical cannabis he needed to control his epilepsy. Six years earlier,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}