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Is CBD addictive?

Studies have found no sign that pure CBD is addictive. What the WHO concluded, what the studies tested, and why THC in a product changes things.

Facts checked 13 November 20266 min readHow we research

On current evidence, pure CBD is not addictive. The World Health Organization (WHO) reviewed it in 2018 and found no case reports of abuse or dependence, and human studies have found that it does not produce a high, a craving to take more, or withdrawal after stopping.12 The caveat is that these findings are about CBD on its own. A product that also contains THC is a different matter.

What did the World Health Organization conclude?

The WHO’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence published a critical review of CBD in 2018. Its key statements were:1

  • “In humans, CBD exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential.”
  • “At present, there are no case reports of abuse or dependence relating to the use of pure CBD.”
  • “At present no public health problems (e.g. driving under the influence of drugs cases, comorbidities) have been associated with the use of pure CBD.”

On the human laboratory research, the review said that while the number of studies is limited, evidence from well-controlled experiments indicates CBD “is not associated with abuse potential”.1

After the review, the committee recommended that preparations considered to be pure CBD not be placed under international drug control.3

How do researchers test whether a drug is addictive?

Addiction research looks for three separate things.

  1. Abuse potential. Does the drug produce a pleasant effect that makes people want to take it again?
  2. Physical dependence. Does the body adapt so that stopping causes withdrawal symptoms?
  3. Tolerance. Do people need more over time to get the same effect?

CBD has been tested on the first two. The third is less well studied.

Does CBD produce a high or a craving?

No, according to the studies done so far.

The abuse-potential study. Adults who used drugs recreationally, but were not dependent, took single doses of CBD at 750, 1,500 and 4,500 mg on an empty stomach. On standard questionnaires such as “Drug Liking” and “Take Drug Again”, CBD scored within the range accepted for placebo. In the same study, THC (10 and 30 mg of dronabinol) and the benzodiazepine alprazolam (2 mg) produced large increases on those measures.2

An earlier comparison with THC. In a randomised trial summarised by the WHO, a 600 mg oral dose of CBD did not differ from placebo on measures of intoxication or mood. A 10 mg oral dose of THC caused intoxication and euphoria and increased anxiety and heart rate.1

Animal studies. Animals will work to give themselves doses of addictive drugs. They do not do this for CBD, and in tests where animals are trained to recognise THC, CBD does not substitute for it.2

This matches what is known about how CBD acts. Unlike THC, it does not strongly activate the CB1 receptor that produces the cannabis high.1 See Does CBD get you high?.

Does stopping CBD cause withdrawal?

It did not in the one study designed to find out. Adults took 1,500 mg of CBD a day (750 mg twice daily) for 28 days and then stopped. They were assessed for six weeks, beginning three days after the last dose, and showed no signs or symptoms of withdrawal. The prescribing information concludes that CBD “likely does not produce physical dependence”.2

Two limits are worth stating. The study lasted four weeks, so it cannot speak for people who have taken CBD for years. And CBD leaves the body slowly, with a half-life of 56 to 61 hours after repeated dosing, so blood levels fall gradually after the last dose.2

Why are epilepsy patients told not to stop suddenly?

This is about seizures, not addiction. The prescribing information says that, as with most anti-seizure medicines, CBD should generally be withdrawn gradually, because stopping abruptly can increase seizures.2 Anyone taking CBD for epilepsy should talk to their prescriber before making any change. See Stopping CBD.

Do you build tolerance to CBD?

The evidence is patchy.

  • When the WHO reviewed the question in 2018, controlled human studies of tolerance and withdrawal had not been reported. In mice, tolerance developed to THC but not to CBD.1
  • In a study of 26 healthy men taking 600 mg a day, the lowering of resting blood pressure seen after a single dose was lost after 7 days of dosing.4
  • In open-label follow-up of people with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, reductions in drop seizures were maintained through 156 weeks. That study had no comparison group.5

So tolerance may develop to some effects and not others. This is an open research question.

Why does it matter whether a product contains THC?

Every finding above concerns pure CBD. THC is the compound in cannabis that causes a high, and the abuse-potential study showed clearly that people like its effects.2

Products sold as CBD do not always match their labels. In one United States study of 84 CBD products bought online, only 31% were accurately labelled, and some contained THC.6 Full-spectrum extracts contain a small amount of THC by design.

If a “CBD” product makes you feel intoxicated, or you find yourself wanting more of it, the product may contain THC. See CBD vs THC and Is what is on the label in the bottle?.

Is CBD being studied as a treatment for addiction?

Yes. The results are early and mixed, and none of this means CBD is an established treatment.

  • Cannabis use disorder. In a trial of 82 people, 400 mg and 800 mg a day for four weeks reduced cannabis use. A 200 mg dose was dropped as ineffective.7
  • Heroin. In 42 people who had stopped using heroin, 400 or 800 mg a day for three days reduced craving triggered by drug cues.8
  • Cocaine. In 78 people, 800 mg a day did not reduce craving or relapse.9

See CBD for addiction and substance use.

Can a habit form without addiction?

Something can become a routine without being addictive in the medical sense. If you take CBD and are unsure whether it is doing anything, that is a reasonable thing to review with your prescriber. The TGA’s guidance says treatment with medicinal cannabis should be stopped if a benefit has not been demonstrated.10

Where to get help

If you are worried about your own or someone else’s use of cannabis, alcohol or any other drug, the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline offers free, confidential support on 1800 250 015, 24 hours a day.11 Your GP can also help.

Footnotes

  1. World Health Organization Expert Committee on Drug Dependence. Cannabidiol (CBD) critical review report, 2018. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/controlled-substances/whocbdreportmay2018-2.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  2. 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 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  3. World Health Organization. 40th ECDD news briefing, 13 September 2018. https://www.who.int/news/item/13-09-2018-40th-ecdd-news-briefing ↩

  4. Systematic review of randomised trials of oral cannabidiol and blood pressure in adults (summarising Sultan and others, 2020). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13531894/ ↩

  5. Long-term open-label extension study of cannabidiol in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Epilepsia. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10126054/1/epi.16878.pdf ↩

  6. Bonn-Miller and others. Labelling accuracy of 84 cannabidiol products sold online. JAMA, 2017. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2661569 ↩

  7. Freeman and others. Phase 2a adaptive randomised trial of cannabidiol for cannabis use disorder. The Lancet Psychiatry, 2020. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7116091/ ↩

  8. Review summarising Hurd YL and others, cannabidiol for cue-induced craving and anxiety in heroin use disorder, American Journal of Psychiatry, 2019. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12104536/ ↩

  9. Mongeau-Pérusse and others. Randomised trial of cannabidiol 800 mg a day for craving and relapse in cocaine use disorder, 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33464660/ ↩

  10. 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 ↩

  11. Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline. https://www.health.gov.au/contacts/national-alcohol-and-other-drug-hotline ↩

Common questions

Can you get addicted to CBD oil?

Studies of pure CBD have found no sign of addiction. It did not produce a high or a desire to take it again in people who use drugs recreationally, and the WHO found no case reports of abuse or dependence. A CBD oil that also contains THC carries the risks of THC as well.

Does stopping CBD cause withdrawal?

In a dependence study, adults who took 1,500 mg a day for 28 days and then stopped showed no withdrawal signs over six weeks of follow-up. People who take CBD for seizures are a separate case. Anti-seizure medicines are usually withdrawn gradually because sudden changes can increase seizures.

Do you build up a tolerance to CBD?

It is not well studied. The WHO noted in 2018 that controlled human studies of tolerance to CBD had not been reported. One study found that a blood-pressure-lowering effect faded within seven days of daily dosing, while seizure reductions in open-label epilepsy studies were maintained for up to 156 weeks.

Is CBD a gateway to cannabis or other drugs?

There is no evidence for this. The WHO reported no evidence of recreational use of pure CBD and no public health problems linked to it. Researchers are in fact testing CBD as a possible treatment for cannabis and opioid dependence, though those trials are small and early.

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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