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CBD for menopause symptoms

No published trial has tested CBD for hot flushes or other menopause symptoms. Menopause experts list cannabinoids among treatments they do not recommend.

Facts checked 13 November 20266 min readHow we research
Not enough evidence

No published controlled trial of CBD for menopause symptoms at any dose (one unpublished trial used 100 mg vaginal suppositories); evidence is limited to surveys, and registered trials have not reported results.

How we grade evidence

CBD has not been tested as a treatment for menopause symptoms. There is no published controlled trial of CBD for hot flushes, night sweats, sleep or mood during menopause. What exists is survey data from cannabis users, and menopause experts list cannabinoids among the treatments they do not recommend.

Menopause is when periods stop for good. The years leading up to it are called perimenopause.

What the research shows

Trials

We found no published randomised controlled trial of CBD for menopause symptoms. A search of the US trials registry in November 2026 found three registered trials:

Registered trial What it tests Status as of November 2026
Czech trial (NCT06804889) Vaginal suppositories containing 100 mg of CBD plus hyaluronic acid (a moisturising ingredient) against placebo, 50 women, menopause symptom and quality-of-life scales Completed February 2024. No results posted1
US trial (NCT06831916) A hemp-derived product of “minor cannabinoids” and terpenes against placebo, 104 women aged 40 to 60, three months, mainly mood and anxiety measures. The record does not give the product’s CBD or THC content Completed October 2025. No results posted2
US trial (NCT07393672) Hemp-derived cannabinoids against placebo, three months, mainly mood and anxiety measures. The record’s keywords list CBD, CBG and hemp-derived THC, so the product may contain THC Listed as recruiting (record last updated March 2026)3

Until results are published and checked, these trials tell us nothing about whether CBD works. The Czech product combined CBD with hyaluronic acid, so even a positive result could not be credited to CBD alone.

Surveys

A 2022 US survey asked 258 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women about medical cannabis. Most (86.1%) were current cannabis users and 78.7% said they used it for menopause symptoms, most often for sleep problems (67.4%) and mood or anxiety (46.1%). The most common ways of using it were smoking (84.3%) and edibles (78.3%), so most of this use involved THC, not CBD alone.4

The survey tells us what people do, not whether it works. People who answer a survey about cannabis are more likely to be people who use it and like it. The authors called for clinical trials.4

There is no menopause-specific trial, but CBD has been tested for two common menopause complaints in other groups:

  • Sleep. An Australian trial of 150 mg of CBD each night for two weeks in 30 adults with insomnia found it similar to placebo on most sleep measures.5 See CBD for sleep.
  • Anxiety. A 2025 meta-analysis of 21 placebo-controlled trials in anxiety-related conditions found that the overall effect of pure or CBD-rich products was not statistically significant. A subgroup of pure CBD trials did show a moderate effect, but the authors called the evidence limited and low quality.6 See CBD for anxiety.

Why placebo matters for menopause

The Australasian Menopause Society notes that in menopause studies there is often a temporary placebo effect that commonly lasts around three months. It says that unless a product is tested for more than three months, it is not possible to say it is truly effective.7 No CBD study has met that bar.

What doses were tested

None for menopause symptoms in a published trial. The registered Czech trial used vaginal suppositories containing 100 mg of CBD.1 For comparison, the Australian limit for pharmacist-only (Schedule 3) CBD is 150 mg a day, by mouth.8 See CBD dosage: what trials used.

What medical bodies say

  • Australasian Menopause Society. Its 2025 information sheet says there is currently insufficient evidence to support herbal therapies, that “no complementary therapy is as effective as oestrogen therapy for menopausal symptoms”, and that menopausal hormone therapy reduces hot flushes by around 90%. The sheet does not mention CBD.7
  • The Menopause Society (North America). Its 2023 position statement on non-hormone therapy lists cannabinoids among treatments that are not recommended for hot flushes and night sweats, and says hormone therapy remains the most effective treatment for them.9
  • RACGP. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners says medicinal cannabis should only be considered after first-line, evidence-based treatments have been exhausted.10
  • TGA. The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s guidance says medicinal cannabis should be considered only when registered medicines have been tried, and treatment stopped if benefit is not shown.11

Risks to know about

  • Pregnancy. The TGA says medicinal cannabis is not appropriate for women who are pregnant, planning pregnancy or breastfeeding.12 Labels on Australian pharmacist-only CBD must say “Do not use if pregnant or likely to become pregnant”.13 See CBD in pregnancy and breastfeeding.
  • Medicines. CBD blocks several liver enzymes that break down other medicines and adds to drowsiness from sedatives and alcohol.14 No study has checked its interaction with menopausal hormone therapy. Raised INR (slower blood clotting) and bleeding have been reported in people taking warfarin with cannabinoids.15 See CBD drug interactions.
  • Liver. In healthy adults taking about 350 to 400 mg a day for four weeks, 5.6% had large liver enzyme rises that settled after stopping.16 See CBD and the liver.
  • THC products. Most cannabis used for menopause in the survey contained THC.4 THC impairs driving, and the TGA says patients should be advised they are not able to drive while being treated with medicinal cannabis.11 See CBD and driving.

If you are considering it

  • Talk to your GP about which symptoms bother you most. Ask what the proven options are, including hormone therapy and non-hormone medicines, and whether they suit you.
  • If you are interested in CBD, ask what evidence exists for your symptom. For menopause, there is no published trial as of November 2026.
  • Bring a list of all medicines and supplements you take, including any hormone therapy.

See talking to your GP about CBD.

Footnotes

  1. ClinicalTrials.gov. Effect of CBD-based vaginal suppositories on menopausal symptoms (NCT06804889). https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06804889 ↩ ↩2

  2. ClinicalTrials.gov. Impact of cannabinoids on menopause symptoms (NCT06831916). https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06831916 ↩

  3. ClinicalTrials.gov. Effects of hemp-derived cannabinoids on menopause symptoms (NCT07393672). https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07393672 ↩

  4. Dahlgren MK, et al. A survey of medical cannabis use during perimenopause and postmenopause. Menopause, 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35917529/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. Narayan AJ, et al. Cannabidiol for moderate-severe insomnia: a randomized controlled pilot trial of 150 mg of nightly dosing. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38174873/ ↩

  6. Raminelli AO, et al. Effects of different cannabinoid formulations on anxiety-related disorders and Tourette syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40956670/ ↩

  7. Australasian Menopause Society. Complementary medicines and therapies for hot flushes (information sheet), April 2025. https://menopause.org.au/images/stories/infosheets/docs/AMS_Complementary_Medicines_and_Therapies_for_Hot_Flushes.pdf ↩ ↩2

  8. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Final decision on down-scheduling of low-dose cannabidiol, 2020. https://tga.gov.au/node/284859 ↩

  9. The North American Menopause Society. The 2023 nonhormone therapy position statement. Menopause, 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37252752/ ↩

  10. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Position statement: use of medicinal cannabis products in Australia (2019 update). https://www.racgp.org.au/advocacy/position-statements/view-all-position-statements/clinical-and-practice-management/medical-cannabis ↩

  11. 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 ↩ ↩2

  12. 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 ↩

  13. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Notice of interim decisions on proposed amendments to the Poisons Standard (cannabidiol), June 2020. https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/publication/scheduling-decisions-interim/notice-interim-decisions-proposed-amendments-poisons-standard-acms-and-joint-acms-accs-meetings-june-2020/41-cannabidiol-private-application-and-cannabidiol-delegate-initiated ↩

  14. US National Library of Medicine, DailyMed. Epidiolex (cannabidiol) oral solution prescribing information, revised 2026. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=8bf27097-4870-43fb-94f0-f3d0871d1eec ↩

  15. Systematic review of drug interactions with cannabidiol and other cannabinoids, 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11167383/ ↩

  16. EurekAlert. News release on Florian et al., cannabidiol and liver enzyme elevations in healthy adults, JAMA Internal Medicine, July 2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1089832 ↩

Common questions

Does CBD help with menopause symptoms?

It has not been tested properly. No published trial has compared CBD with a placebo for hot flushes, sleep, mood or other menopause symptoms. Surveys show many women use cannabis for menopause, mostly products containing THC, but surveys cannot show whether it works.

Does CBD help with hot flushes?

There is no trial evidence. The 2023 guidance on non-hormone treatments from the North American menopause society lists cannabinoids among treatments it does not recommend for hot flushes. The same guidance says hormone therapy remains the most effective treatment for hot flushes and night sweats.

Can CBD help menopause insomnia or anxiety?

Not proven. An Australian trial of 150 mg of CBD for insomnia found it similar to placebo on most sleep measures, and pooled trials of CBD for anxiety give mixed, low-quality results. None of these trials was done in women going through menopause.

Can I take CBD with HRT?

Ask your doctor or pharmacist. CBD affects liver enzymes that break down many medicines, and no study has looked at how it interacts with menopausal hormone therapy specifically.

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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