CBD research to watch

Much of the evidence for CBD (cannabidiol) so far has been disappointing. Many trials found it did no better than a placebo (a dummy treatment). This page lists trials of CBD that are under way, or have finished but not yet published results, so you can see which questions are about to be answered. It is a list of open questions, not a list of things CBD has been shown to do.

Statuses and dates come from each trial’s registry record, as we read it on 13 November 2026. A registry is a public database where researchers record a trial’s plan before it starts. We name universities, hospitals and research institutes. Trials run by companies are described as company-sponsored.

Why this matters

Many past CBD trials were small, lasted only a few weeks, or used doses quite unlike how people actually take CBD. Several trials below are larger, run for longer, and compare CBD against a placebo with neither patients nor researchers knowing who got which (called double-blind). That is the kind of evidence that can change a grade. Our page on how we grade the evidence explains why this design matters.

How to read this list

• Registered does not mean positive. A registry entry only describes the plan. In 2023, a company-run trial of CBD for sleep in 257 people found no significant difference from placebo.¹
• Many trials end up negative. Expect some of the trials below to find no benefit. That is still useful to know.
• Dates slip. Expected completion dates are estimates. Trials can also stop early. An Australian trial of CBD in early-stage dementia planned to enrol 60 people but stopped after enrolling 1 because of recruitment difficulties.²
• Results take time. Results usually appear in a journal months after a trial ends, sometimes longer.
• THC matters. Some trials test products that also contain THC, the compound in cannabis that causes a high. A result for a THC product is not a result for CBD alone. See CBD vs THC.

Anxiety in young people

See CBD for anxiety.

• CANCAN (Orygen, Melbourne and Perth). Tests CBD in people aged 12 to 25 whose anxiety disorder has not improved with standard care. Randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled, with 180 people planned. Doses are 600 to 800 mg a day for 12 weeks, alongside usual psychological treatment. The registry says “Recruiting”, with 21 people enrolled as of the record’s last update on 12 October 2025, and gives no expected end date.³ Orygen’s study page also said “currently recruiting” when we checked in November 2026.⁴ What a result would tell us: whether a high dose of CBD beats placebo in young people. An earlier Orygen pilot in 31 young people had no placebo group, and its authors said randomised controlled trials were needed to confirm the results.⁵

Cannabis, alcohol and opioid use

See CBD for addiction and substance use.

• CBD-CUD (University of Sydney, NSW and Victoria). Tests CBD for cannabis use disorder. Phase 3, randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled. CBD 400 mg a day for 12 weeks, with counselling offered to everyone. The registry says “Completed”: 253 people were enrolled and the last data were collected on 5 December 2025 (record updated 28 August 2026). We found no published results as of November 2026.⁶ What a result would tell us: whether CBD reduces the number of days people use cannabis over 12 weeks, in a trial of more than 250 people.
• Alcohol use disorder (University of Colorado, US). Compares full-spectrum CBD (under 0.3% THC), broad-spectrum CBD (0% THC) and hemp seed oil as the placebo, at 210 mg a day for 12 weeks in 180 people. Randomised and placebo-controlled. “Recruiting” as of June 2026, with completion estimated for April 2027.⁷ What a result would tell us: whether CBD changes drinking, and whether a trace of THC makes any difference.
• ACROS (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, US). Tests CBD at 400 or 800 mg a day, added to usual care, in 450 people with opioid use disorder. Phase 3, randomised and placebo-controlled. “Recruiting” as of September 2026, with completion estimated for August 2027.⁸ What a result would tell us: whether CBD increases the share of people with no illicit opioid use over 24 weeks.

Behaviour in intellectual disability and fragile X syndrome

See CBD for autism.

• Murdoch Children’s Research Institute trial (Melbourne and Sydney). Tests CBD for severe behaviour problems in children and teenagers aged 6 to 18 with intellectual disability. Randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled, using up to 10 mg per kg of body weight a day for 8 weeks. The registry says “Completed”: 132 people were enrolled and the trial ended on 19 August 2025.⁹ We found no published results as of November 2026. What a result would tell us: whether CBD reduces irritability more than placebo in a group large enough to show it.
• RECONNECT (a company-sponsored trial, including sites in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney). Tested a CBD gel rubbed into the skin in 257 people aged 3 to 29 with fragile X syndrome. Phase 3, randomised and placebo-controlled. It finished on 29 August 2025.¹⁰ According to a fragile X research foundation, the company announced on 24 September 2025 that the trial did not meet its main goal, citing a “higher-than-expected placebo response”.¹¹ We found no full published results. What a result would tell us: the full data may show whether any group of patients responded, but the headline result was negative.

Cancer symptoms

See CBD and cancer.

• MedCan 3 (Mater, Queensland). Tests a product containing THC and CBD in a 1:20 ratio for symptom distress in adults with advanced cancer. Phase 3, randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled. Doses range from 2.5 mg THC with 50 mg CBD up to 30 mg THC with 600 mg CBD a day, for up to 28 days. The registry says “Recruiting”, with 128 of 150 people enrolled and the last data expected by 30 July 2027 (record updated 23 September 2026).¹² What a result would tell us: whether a mostly-CBD product with a little THC succeeds where the team’s earlier trial of CBD alone found no added benefit over specialist palliative care.¹³
• Children with advanced cancer (Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Melbourne and Newcastle). Compares two products that both contain THC: one with equal THC and CBD, and one CBD-dominant (1 part THC to 100 parts CBD). Randomised and blinded, with no placebo group, in people aged 6 months to 21 years. The registry says “Recruiting”, with 15 of 100 people enrolled (record updated 18 March 2026) and no expected end date.¹⁴ What a result would tell us: which doses young people tolerate, rather than whether either product beats placebo.

Endometriosis

See CBD for endometriosis and period pain.

• EndoCann (Western Sydney University, six states and territories). Compares an oil with equal THC and CBD, a full-spectrum CBD extract, and a placebo for pelvic pain, over 26 weeks in 126 planned participants. Randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled. The registry says “Recruiting”, with 21 people enrolled, but its expected last data date of 1 July 2026 has passed and the record was last updated on 2 February 2025.¹⁵ What a result would tell us: whether either oil reduces endometriosis pain more than placebo, and whether THC makes a difference.
• ENDOCAN-1 (University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian, Scotland). Tests an oral CBD solution, increased step by step to up to 6.25 mg per kg twice a day, for 12 weeks in 100 people. Randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled. Recruitment is scheduled from 1 August 2026 to 30 September 2027, with the trial ending on 31 March 2028.¹⁶ What a result would tell us: whether CBD alone reduces endometriosis pain more than placebo.

Insomnia (a possible over-the-counter product)

See CBD for sleep and over-the-counter CBD.

• A company-sponsored trial (sites in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA). Tests CBD capsules at 75 mg or 150 mg each night against placebo for 8 weeks in 519 people with insomnia. Phase 3, randomised and placebo-controlled. “Active, not recruiting” as of June 2026, with completion estimated for December 2027.¹⁷ Trade press reports that the company aims to seek TGA approval as an over-the-counter pharmacy medicine. In June 2026 an independent board recommended the trial continue unchanged after an interim look at 244 patients, but the data remain blinded, so this does not show whether CBD worked.¹ As of March 2026, the TGA said only two cannabis medicines had ever been registered in Australia, and neither is an over-the-counter CBD product.¹⁸ What a result would tell us: whether a low-dose CBD product can beat placebo for insomnia in a large trial.

Psychosis and bipolar depression

See CBD for psychosis and schizophrenia and CBD for depression.

• STEP-ENHANCE (University of Oxford, Europe, the UK and Israel). Tests CBD at 1,000 mg a day for 6 weeks, added to antipsychotic medicine, in 250 people aged 16 to 40 whose first episode of psychosis has not responded well. Phase 3, randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled. “Recruiting” (started 5 October 2026), with completion estimated for February 2029.¹⁹ What a result would tell us: whether earlier small signals hold up. A 2026 analysis of five trials found a small advantage for add-on CBD on some symptoms and none on negative symptoms (such as low motivation).²⁰
• CBD-BD (University of British Columbia, Canada). Tests CBD at 200 to 600 mg a day for 6 weeks, added to usual treatment, in 360 people with bipolar depression. Phase 3, randomised and placebo-controlled. “Recruiting” as of April 2025, with completion estimated for December 2030.²¹ What a result would tell us: whether CBD added to usual treatment improves depression in bipolar disorder more than placebo.

Depression

See CBD for depression.

• ANANDA (Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Brazil). Tests a full-spectrum oil containing THC (3.33 mg per mL) as well as CBD (100 mg per mL) for 12 weeks in 120 adults with depression that has not responded to treatment. Randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled. “Recruiting” as of July 2026, with completion estimated for 31 December 2026, only about seven months after it started.²² What a result would tell us: whether this THC-containing oil, added to antidepressants, improves depression scores more than placebo.

Dementia and Parkinson’s disease

See CBD for dementia and CBD for Parkinson’s disease.

• LiBBY (University of Southern California, US). Tested an oil containing THC as well as CBD, for agitation in 120 people with dementia who were eligible for hospice care. The dose was 2 mg THC with 100 mg CBD twice a day for the first week, then 4 mg THC with 200 mg CBD twice a day, for 12 weeks in total.²³²⁴ Randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled. The registry says “Completed” (28 April 2026).²³ Topline results presented at a conference in July 2026 showed a greater drop in agitation than placebo. Serious adverse events occurred in 23.3% of the treatment group against 11.9% on placebo, and the investigators said none were related to the study medicine.²⁴ We found no full journal paper as of November 2026. What a result would tell us: the full paper will show how reliable the result is. It is evidence about a THC product, not CBD alone.
• CAN-PDP (King’s College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK). Tests CBD against placebo, added to usual care, for hallucinations and delusions in Parkinson’s disease. The randomised part planned up to 120 people for 12 weeks. The registry gives a final enrolment of 100 and an end date of 19 December 2025, with no results posted.²⁵ What a result would tell us: whether CBD reduces psychosis symptoms in Parkinson’s more than placebo.

Chronic pain and epilepsy

See CBD for chronic pain and CBD for epilepsy.

• MIVetsCan CBD-Care (Michigan, US). Tests the registered CBD medicine Epidiolex (sold in Australia as Epidyolex), up to 1.2 mL a day, for 28 days in 468 veterans with chronic pain. Randomised and placebo-controlled. “Recruiting” as of May 2026, with completion estimated for December 2028.²⁶ What a result would tell us: whether a pharmaceutical-grade CBD improves veterans’ overall sense of change in their pain more than placebo.
• CAN-DRE (University of Manitoba, Canada). Compares CBD isolate (no THC), a CBD-enriched extract containing some THC (3 mg per mL) and placebo in 90 adults and children with epilepsy that has not responded to medicines. Randomised and placebo-controlled. “Not yet recruiting” as of June 2026, with completion estimated for March 2028.²⁷ What a result would tell us: whether a small amount of THC adds anything to CBD for seizures.

If you want to take part

Each registry record linked below lists the trial’s contact details and who can take part. The researchers decide who is eligible, and many trials have strict criteria about age, diagnosis and other medicines. Taking part is a decision to discuss with your doctor, especially if you take other medicines, since CBD can interact with some of them (see CBD drug interactions). Trials that use THC products may also affect whether you can legally drive (see CBD and driving).

We will update this page as results are published. For other changes, see what’s new.

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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