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CBD for nerve pain and neuropathy

The largest trial of oral CBD for nerve pain found no benefit, and a CBD cream failed for chemotherapy neuropathy. A few small studies were positive.

Facts checked 13 November 20267 min readHow we research
Not enough evidence

Only four small trials of CBD alone. The two most rigorous (oral CBD 5 to 50 mg a day, and a CBD cream) found no benefit; the only positive results are one small skin-oil trial and unpublished company figures.

How we grade evidence

CBD is not a proven treatment for nerve pain. The largest independent trial of oral CBD found it did no better than placebo, and a CBD cream failed for nerve damage caused by chemotherapy. A few small or company-reported studies were positive, so the evidence is mixed rather than settled.

Nerve pain (also called neuropathic pain or neuropathy) is pain caused by damage to nerves. Trials on this page included people with nerve damage from diabetes, chemotherapy, shingles and injury.

What the research shows

Trials of CBD on its own

Trial Who CBD dose Result
Zubcevic 2023, Denmark 115 people with nerve pain from polyneuropathy, shingles or nerve injury, who had failed at least one standard treatment 5 to 50 mg a day by mouth for 8 weeks (separate arms tested THC and THC plus CBD) None of the treatments reduced pain compared with placebo. CBD scored 1.14 points worse than placebo on a 0 to 10 scale1
D’Andre 2024, USA 40 people with established nerve damage from chemotherapy CBD cream for 2 weeks, then placebo cream (or the reverse) Neuropathy scores similar with CBD and placebo2
Xu 2020, USA 29 people with nerve pain in the legs and feet CBD oil applied to the skin for 4 weeks Less intense and sharp pain, and fewer cold and itchy sensations, than placebo3
Phase 2 trial, USA (NCT04679545) 54 people with painful diabetic neuropathy of the feet 20 mg under the tongue three times a day for 28 days The sponsor reported greater falls in pain than placebo. No results are posted on the registry45

The Danish trial was the largest and most rigorous. Its authors concluded that “CBD, THC and their combination did not relieve peripheral neuropathic pain”.1

The two positive studies have weaknesses. The skin-oil trial was small, and the diabetic neuropathy results come from a news report of company-provided figures without a dose-by-dose breakdown or published placebo results that we could check.35

Preventing chemotherapy nerve damage

A Danish study gave 54 people starting chemotherapy 300 mg of CBD a day for eight days, starting the day before treatment, and compared them with a similar group who did not take CBD. The CBD group had fewer early symptoms on some measures. The study was not randomised or placebo-controlled, and the authors said results “should be confirmed in a larger, randomized study”.6 A UK placebo-controlled trial of oral CBD for chemotherapy nerve pain (92 people planned) is registered, with recruitment scheduled from May 2026 to January 2027. It has no results yet.7

Cannabis products containing THC

Much of what is said about “medicinal cannabis for nerve pain” comes from THC-containing products, which are a different medicine. The reviews below mix them with CBD.

  • A Cochrane review of nerve pain, updated and reported in January 2026, covered 21 trials and more than 2,100 adults. The products were mainly THC, mainly CBD, or a balance of THC and CBD. For all three types, it found no high-quality evidence of less nerve pain than with placebo.8
  • A 2026 review of four trials in diabetic nerve pain found three reported pain reductions. The clearer results came from products containing THC, and the authors said the small, varied trials “preclude firm conclusions”.9

All CBD pain trials together

A 2024 review of 16 randomised trials of pharmaceutical-grade CBD that measured pain of any kind found that 15 showed no benefit over placebo.10 See CBD for chronic pain.

Why this page is graded “not enough evidence”

For pain in general, almost every controlled trial of CBD alone was negative, so our chronic pain page is graded “trials show no benefit”. For nerve pain specifically, there are only four trials of CBD alone, and all are small. The two most rigorous (the Danish oral trial and the cream trial) were negative. The only positive results come from one small published trial of a skin oil and a company-reported trial that has not been published. That is too little, and too inconsistent, to say whether CBD does anything for nerve pain, so we grade it “not enough evidence” under our grading rules. The better-quality evidence leans towards no benefit.

What doses were tested

Oral trials used 5 to 50 mg a day,1 60 mg a day (20 mg three times daily),4 and 300 mg a day for prevention.6 All but the last are below the Australian limit of 150 mg a day for pharmacist-only (Schedule 3) CBD.11 Creams and skin oils were tested at concentrations set by the product, and very little CBD passes through the skin into the blood.12 A prescriber sets the dose for any prescribed product.

What Australian medical bodies say

  • Faculty of Pain Medicine (ANZCA). It says the evidence for cannabinoids in chronic non-cancer pain “remains insufficient to justify endorsement of their clinical use” and advises doctors not to prescribe them for this kind of pain outside a registered clinical trial. The statement is listed as under review.13
  • RACGP. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners says there is some evidence for cannabinoids in general for nerve pain, but the effect is small.14
  • TGA. The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s guidance urges caution for chronic non-cancer pain and says treatment should be stopped if benefit has not been shown.15

See what Australian medical bodies say.

Risks to know about

  • Sedating nerve pain medicines. CBD adds to the drowsiness caused by other sedating medicines, opioids and alcohol.16 Ask a pharmacist before combining CBD with your nerve pain medicines.
  • Chemotherapy and other medicines. CBD blocks several liver enzymes that break down other drugs.16 People having cancer treatment should check any CBD product with their oncology team. See CBD drug interactions.
  • Liver. At 350 to 400 mg a day, 5.6% of healthy adults had large liver enzyme rises within four weeks.17 See CBD and the liver.
  • THC products. Many cannabis products prescribed for pain contain THC. The TGA says patients should be advised they are not able to drive while being treated with medicinal cannabis.15 See CBD and driving.

If you are considering it

  • Ask your GP or specialist which nerve pain treatments have good evidence for your cause of nerve pain, and whether you have tried them at an adequate dose.
  • If CBD is suggested, ask which trial supports it for your type of nerve pain and at what dose.
  • Questions worth asking: Does the product contain THC? How will it interact with my current medicines? How will we measure pain before and after, and when would we stop?

See talking to your GP about CBD.

Footnotes

  1. Zubcevic K, et al. Oral capsules of tetra-hydro-cannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and their combination in peripheral neuropathic pain treatment. European Journal of Pain, 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36571471/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. D’Andre S, et al. Topical cannabidiol for established chemotherapy-induced neuropathy: a pilot randomized placebo-controlled trial. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39016024/ ↩

  3. Xu DH, Cullen BD, Tang M, Fang Y. The effectiveness of topical cannabidiol oil in symptomatic relief of peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities. Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31793418/ ↩ ↩2

  4. ClinicalTrials.gov. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial using cannabidiol for the treatment of painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the feet (NCT04679545). https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04679545 ↩ ↩2

  5. Practical Neurology. Sublingual cannabidiol tablet shows efficacy for treating diabetic peripheral neuropathy in phase 2 trial, 19 May 2021. https://practicalneurology.com/news/sublingual-cannabidiol-tablet-shows-efficacy-for-treating-diabetic-peripheral-neuropathy-in-phase-2-trial/2469595/ ↩ ↩2

  6. Nielsen SW, et al. Oral cannabidiol for prevention of acute and transient chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Supportive Care in Cancer, 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35933415/ ↩ ↩2

  7. ISRCTN registry. A randomised trial to see if an oral cannabis-based medicine (CBD) can help to treat chemotherapy related nerve pain (ISRCTN15275553). https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN15275553 ↩

  8. ScienceDaily. Report of the 2026 Cochrane review update on cannabis-based medicines for chronic neuropathic pain. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260118233547.htm ↩

  9. Sherman JJ, Riche DM. Medical cannabis for the treatment of peripheral neuropathy due to diabetes: a systematic review. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41714301/ ↩

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

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

  12. Review of topical and transdermal delivery of cannabidiol, 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11172078/ ↩

  13. Faculty of Pain Medicine, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. Medicinal cannabis, including statement PS10(PM), 2021. https://www.anzca.edu.au/patient-information/about-pain-medicine/medicinal-cannabis ↩

  14. 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 ↩

  15. 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

  16. 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 ↩ ↩2

  17. 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 nerve pain?

It is not proven, and the best trial was negative. In a Danish trial of 115 people with nerve pain from several causes, CBD at 5 to 50 mg a day for eight weeks did not reduce pain compared with placebo. A few smaller studies reported benefits, but they have not been confirmed.

Does CBD help diabetic neuropathy?

There is one positive trial of CBD alone, in 54 people taking 20 mg under the tongue three times a day for four weeks, but the results were announced by the company that makes the product and no results are posted on the trial registry. A 2026 review of diabetic nerve pain trials found the clearest results came from products containing THC.

Can CBD prevent nerve damage from chemotherapy?

That has not been shown. A Danish study gave 300 mg a day around the first chemotherapy cycle and reported fewer early symptoms than in a comparison group, but it was not randomised and the authors said a proper randomised trial is needed. For nerve damage that is already established, a CBD cream did no better than placebo.

Do CBD creams work for burning or tingling feet?

One small US trial of 29 people reported less sharp and intense pain with a CBD oil applied to the feet for four weeks. A later trial of a CBD cream in 40 people with nerve damage from chemotherapy found no difference from placebo. The evidence is too thin to say creams work.

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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