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CBD for endometriosis and period pain

No completed trial has tested whether CBD affects endometriosis or period pain. One small Australian trial was inconclusive and a UK trial is still running.

Facts checked 13 November 20264 min readHow we research
Not enough evidence

No completed efficacy trial of CBD exists for endometriosis or period pain, so no dose has been shown to work or fail. One Australian feasibility trial randomised only 12 people and could not draw conclusions.

How we grade evidence

There is not enough evidence to say whether CBD helps endometriosis or period pain. No completed trial has properly tested it. The one Australian trial that tried was too small to reach a conclusion, and a UK trial has not yet reported.

What the research shows

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it, often causing severe pelvic pain. Period pain is called dysmenorrhoea in medical writing. For both, the trial evidence on CBD is close to empty.

  • Australian feasibility trial (2025). This three-arm trial compared inhaled cannabis, oral CBD oil and placebo. A feasibility trial tests whether a larger study is practical. Only 12 people were randomised and 7 withdrew, so no conclusions about pain relief were possible.1
  • ENDOCAN-1 (UK). A feasibility trial of a CBD oral solution for endometriosis is registered and ongoing. No results were available as of November 2026.2
  • Period pain. No completed efficacy trial of CBD for period pain was found in our research.

That leaves surveys and personal reports. Pain responds strongly to expectation, so reports of improvement cannot show that CBD was the cause. Our page on how we grade evidence explains why.

What trials in other kinds of pain found

Because there is no direct evidence, it is fair to look at CBD in other pain conditions. The results are not encouraging. A 2024 review found 16 randomised trials of pharmaceutical-grade CBD that measured pain, and 15 of them showed no benefit over placebo.3 None of those trials was in endometriosis or period pain, so they cannot settle this question. See CBD for chronic pain.

What doses were tested

No dose of CBD has been shown to work, or not to work, for endometriosis or period pain, because no trial has been completed at a useful size.

In the pain trials for other conditions, doses from 20 mg up to 600 mg a day were tested without benefit.45

What Australian medical bodies say

No Australian medical body recommends CBD for endometriosis or period pain.

  • The Faculty of Pain Medicine says the evidence for cannabinoids in chronic non-cancer pain “remains insufficient to justify endorsement of their clinical use”. Its Choosing Wisely recommendation is not to prescribe currently available cannabinoid products for chronic non-cancer pain unless as part of a registered clinical trial. That statement is listed as under review as of November 2026.6
  • The TGA advises caution for chronic non-cancer pain and says medicinal cannabis should be considered only after registered medicines have been tried and have failed.7
  • RACGP (the GPs’ college) says the evidence is “limited and inconclusive” and does not recommend or encourage medicinal cannabis.8

Risks to know about

  • Pregnancy and trying to conceive. The TGA says medicinal cannabis is not appropriate for women who are pregnant, planning pregnancy or breastfeeding.9 Animal studies of CBD showed harm to development, and there are no adequate human data.10 See CBD in pregnancy and breastfeeding.
  • Interactions. CBD blocks several liver enzymes that process other medicines, so it may change the levels of medicines you already take.10 Give your prescriber a full list, including hormonal treatments and pain medicines. See CBD drug interactions.
  • Liver. In a trial for knee pain, people taking 600 mg of CBD a day alongside regular paracetamol had more liver enzyme rises than those on placebo (15 people compared with 5).5 See CBD and the liver.
  • THC. Many medicinal cannabis products prescribed for pain contain THC, which is intoxicating and can produce a positive roadside drug test. See CBD and driving.
  • Delay. Severe period pain should be assessed by a doctor. Self-treating can delay a diagnosis.

If you are considering it

  • See your GP or gynaecologist about the pain itself first. Ask what treatments have evidence for your situation.
  • Tell them if you are pregnant, trying to conceive or might be in the near future.
  • If a cannabis medicine is suggested, ask whether it contains THC and what evidence supports that product for pelvic pain.
  • Australian pain specialists advise that cannabinoids for chronic non-cancer pain should be prescribed only as part of a registered clinical trial.6

See talking to your GP about CBD.

Footnotes

  1. Australian three-arm feasibility randomised trial of inhaled cannabis, oral CBD oil and placebo for endometriosis pain, 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12920050 ↩

  2. ISRCTN registry. ENDOCAN-1 feasibility trial of cannabidiol oral solution for endometriosis, ISRCTN13210908. https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN13210908 ↩

  3. Moore RA, Straube S, Fisher E, Eccleston C. Cannabidiol (CBD) products for pain: ineffective, expensive, and with potential harms. Journal of Pain, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2023.10.009 ↩

  4. Vela J et al. Cannabidiol treatment in hand osteoarthritis and psoriatic arthritis: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (conference abstract; published in Pain, 2022). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/cannabidiol-treatment-in-hand-osteoarthritis-and-psoriatic-arthritis-a-randomized-double-blind-placebo-controlled-trial/ ↩

  5. Pramhas S et al. Oral cannabidiol as add-on to paracetamol for painful chronic osteoarthritis of the knee. Lancet Regional Health Europe, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100777 ↩ ↩2

  6. Faculty of Pain Medicine, ANZCA. Medicinal cannabis (patient information on statement PS10(PM), 2021). https://www.anzca.edu.au/patient-information/about-pain-medicine/medicinal-cannabis ↩ ↩2

  7. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Guidance for the use of medicinal cannabis in Australia: overview. https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/resource/guidance/guidance-use-medicinal-cannabis-australia-overview ↩

  8. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Medical cannabis position statement (2019 update). https://www.racgp.org.au/advocacy/position-statements/view-all-position-statements/clinical-and-practice-management/medical-cannabis ↩

  9. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Guidance for the use of medicinal cannabis in Australia: patient information. https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/guidance-use-medicinal-cannabis-australia-patient-information.pdf ↩

  10. Epidiolex (cannabidiol) US prescribing information, DailyMed, revised 2026. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=8bf27097-4870-43fb-94f0-f3d0871d1eec ↩ ↩2

Common questions

Does CBD help endometriosis pain?

It has not been properly tested. The one Australian trial that tried was too small to draw any conclusion, with only 12 people randomised and 7 withdrawing. A UK trial is under way but has not reported.

Does CBD help period pain?

No completed trial of CBD for period pain was found in our research. Claims that it works rest on surveys and personal reports, which cannot separate a real effect from the placebo effect.

Can I use CBD if I am trying to get pregnant?

The TGA says medicinal cannabis is not appropriate for women who are pregnant, planning pregnancy or breastfeeding. This matters for endometriosis because many people with the condition are also trying to conceive. Talk to your doctor about it directly.

Do CBD tampons, suppositories or creams work for period pain?

No trial evidence for these products was found in our research. They are also not lawfully sold over the counter in Australia, where CBD is a prescription medicine.

This page is general information, not medical or legal advice. Laws and evidence change; we show the date we last checked the facts at the top of every page. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

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