This page gathers what parents most often ask about CBD (cannabidiol) and children. The only use in children backed by strong trials is a prescription CBD medicine for a few rare, severe epilepsies, given under specialist care. For autism, ADHD, anxiety and sleep, the evidence is small, mixed or missing. Everything here is as of November 2026.
If your child takes any other medicine, ask their pharmacist or doctor before CBD is used. The same applies to you.
What do parents most need to know?
1. Strong evidence exists only for rare, severe epilepsies
The TGA registered Epidyolex, a purified CBD oral solution, in September 2020. It is approved as an add-on treatment for seizures in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome in patients aged 2 and older.1 It is on the PBS for both.2 The doses in the trials were high, 10 to 20 mg per kg of body weight a day, and children commonly had sleepiness, lower appetite, diarrhoea and raised liver enzymes.3 A specialist sets the dose and orders regular liver blood tests.
2. Autism and ADHD: the evidence is weak
The largest autism trial, in 150 people aged 5 to 21, used extracts with a CBD to THC ratio of 20 to 1, so they contained THC.4 Our grade for autism is “limited evidence”. For ADHD there is no randomised trial of CBD alone. The one controlled trial tested nabiximols, a spray containing THC, in 30 adults, and its main outcome was not significantly better than placebo.5 Our grade is “not enough evidence”.
3. Not in pregnancy or while breastfeeding
The TGA says medicinal cannabis is not appropriate for women who are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding.6 There are no adequate human studies in pregnancy, and nobody has measured CBD in human breast milk.3 If you are already taking CBD, including for epilepsy, talk to your doctor before changing anything.
4. Accidental swallowing is a real risk
Serious cannabis poisonings in children have involved THC edibles such as gummies.7 Products sold as CBD outside the prescription system are often mislabelled: in one United States study only 31% of 84 online products were accurately labelled, and some contained undeclared THC.8 Store every cannabis product locked away. If a child swallows one, call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26.9
Guides for parents
Children and teenagers
- CBD for children and teenagers: what is approved, trial doses, side effects in children, growth and liver monitoring, and questions to ask your child’s doctor.
- Can teenagers take CBD?: the short answer on prescriptions and the pharmacist-only category.
- CBD side effects and CBD drug interactions: what trials recorded, and which medicines CBD affects.
Epilepsy
- CBD for epilepsy: the large trials in Dravet, Lennox-Gastaut and tuberous sclerosis complex, and why low-dose CBD has no evidence for seizures.
- What is Epidyolex? and Epidyolex and Sativex: what the registered medicine is and what it is approved for.
- PBS, Medicare and health insurance: when Epidyolex is subsidised.
Development and behaviour
- CBD for autism: the trials, the THC question, and the reported negative results for purified CBD.
- CBD for ADHD: why there is no evidence for CBD alone.
- CBD for anxiety and CBD for sleep: what the small trials found.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
- CBD in pregnancy and breastfeeding: what regulators say, the animal findings, and what to do if you have already used CBD.
- Is CBD safe in pregnancy? and Can you use CBD while breastfeeding?: short answers.
Products and storage
- Is what is on the label in the bottle?: mislabelling and undeclared THC.
- How to store CBD oil: storage and shelf life.
Questions our guides do not yet answer
Parents also ask whether CBD can be given at school and what schools require, and whether child protection services are involved when a parent uses prescribed cannabis. Our research has not covered these. Your child’s school, the treating doctor or a legal service can advise.
Before any change to a child’s treatment
Talk to the treating specialist before changing a child’s anti-seizure medicines. Sudden changes can increase seizures.3
Footnotes
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Therapeutic Goods Administration. Epidyolex: Australian prescription medicine decision summary. https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/auspmd/epidyolex ↩
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Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Cannabidiol, item 12467E, viewed November 2026. https://www.pbs.gov.au/medicine/item/12467E ↩
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Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Epidiolex (cannabidiol) oral solution, US prescribing information, DailyMed (accessed November 2026). https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=8bf27097-4870-43fb-94f0-f3d0871d1eec ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Aran A, et al. Cannabinoid treatment for autism: a proof-of-concept randomized trial. Molecular Autism, 2021. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7860205/ ↩
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Cooper RE et al. Cannabinoids in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a randomised-controlled trial (EMA-C), 2017. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28576350/ ↩
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Therapeutic Goods Administration. Guidance for the use of medicinal cannabis in Australia: patient information, version 1, December 2017. https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/guidance-use-medicinal-cannabis-australia-patient-information.pdf ↩
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Review of paediatric cannabis edible exposures. Frontiers in Toxicology, 2024. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ftox.2024.1371651/full ↩
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Bonn-Miller and others. Labelling accuracy of 84 cannabidiol products sold online. JAMA, 2017. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2661569 ↩
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healthdirect. Poisoning (Poisons Information Line 13 11 26). https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/poisoning ↩
Common questions
Can children be prescribed CBD in Australia?
Yes, by a doctor. Epidyolex is registered by the TGA for seizures in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome in patients aged 2 and over, as an add-on to other anti-seizure medicines. Any other use in a child is a decision for the treating doctor.
Can a child or teenager buy pharmacist-only CBD?
No. The Schedule 3 pharmacist-only category for low-dose CBD is limited to adults, and as of November 2026 no product has been registered in it. For anyone under 18, CBD is available only on a doctor's prescription.
Is CBD safe for teenagers with anxiety?
It has not been properly tested. An Australian study of 31 young people aged 12 to 25 saw anxiety scores fall on CBD up to 800 mg a day, but it had no placebo group and the authors say a placebo effect cannot be ruled out. A review concluded the evidence is insufficient to broadly recommend cannabinoids for mental disorders in young people.
Does CBD help autism?
It is not proven. Small trials of CBD-rich cannabis extracts, including products that contained some THC, found improvements in some behaviour measures. Recent trials of purified CBD on its own have been reported as showing no benefit.
What should I do if my child swallows a CBD product?
Call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26, which answers at any time, and have the packaging with you. Call 000 in an emergency. Products sold as CBD can contain THC, which is the cause of the serious cannabis poisonings reported in children.
Can I use CBD while breastfeeding?
Regulators advise against it. Nobody has measured how much CBD reaches human breast milk, and the Australian product information for Epidyolex says CBD will likely pass into milk and that breastfeeding should be discontinued during treatment.
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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