Is CBD Addictive? What Does the Research Actually Show?

A common question about CBD is whether taking it regularly can lead to addiction or dependence.

The evidence available so far is fairly reassuring: purified CBD appears to have low abuse and dependence potential, and the World Health Organization has concluded that preparations considered to be pure CBD do not show the abuse or dependence potential that would justify international drug control. See the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence review.

However, that answer needs an important qualification.

“Not considered addictive” does not mean “completely safe”, suitable for everyone, or safe at any dose.

CBD can still cause adverse effects, interact with medicines and raise safety concerns at higher or prolonged exposure. Current UK Food Standards Agency guidance therefore remains important even when discussing addiction. See the FSA guidance on CBD safety and health claims.

Addiction, dependence and withdrawal are not the same thing

These terms are often used as though they mean exactly the same thing, but research looks at several different questions.

Abuse potential asks whether a substance produces effects that make people likely to deliberately seek and repeatedly use it for those effects.

Physical dependence refers to adaptations that can develop after repeated exposure to a substance.

Withdrawal refers to symptoms that may appear when a physically dependent person suddenly stops taking it.

Someone can also become strongly attached to a routine or behaviour without having a pharmacological drug addiction.

That distinction matters because the studies on CBD have investigated several of these questions separately rather than simply asking whether CBD is “addictive”.

What does the World Health Organization say about CBD?

The WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence carried out a formal review of preparations considered to be pure cannabidiol.

The committee recommended that preparations considered to be pure CBD should not be placed under international drug control, concluding that CBD did not demonstrate the psychoactive, abuse or dependence characteristics that would justify such control.

That is one of the strongest reasons it is reasonable to say that purified CBD has a low addiction potential.

But this finding relates specifically to CBD. It should not be automatically extended to cannabis as a whole or to products containing meaningful quantities of THC.

What did the human abuse-potential study find?

Researchers have also tested highly purified pharmaceutical CBD in people specifically selected because they had experience using recreational drugs.

In a randomised controlled study, participants received single doses of highly purified CBD at 750mg, 1,500mg and 4,500mg. Researchers compared the results with placebo and with drugs known to produce measurable abuse-related effects, including dronabinol, which is THC, and alprazolam. The study is available on PubMed.

At the 750mg CBD dose, the primary measure of “drug liking” was not significantly different from placebo.

At 1,500mg and 4,500mg, researchers could detect some subjective effects, but those effects were substantially smaller than those produced by the comparison drugs. The researchers concluded that the therapeutic CBD dose studied showed low abuse potential.

There are two important lessons here.

First, the results support the idea that purified CBD has relatively low abuse potential.

Second, very high doses are not necessarily completely without noticeable effects.

That is why saying “CBD can never have any effect whatsoever” would go beyond the evidence.

Can CBD cause withdrawal?

Another trial investigated this question more directly.

Thirty healthy volunteers received 750mg of highly purified pharmaceutical CBD twice a day — 1,500mg per day — for four weeks. Participants were then either kept on CBD or switched abruptly to placebo.

Researchers found no evidence of a withdrawal syndrome following abrupt discontinuation during this short-term study. The study can be read on PubMed.

That is useful evidence against strong physical dependence developing under those experimental conditions.

But we should not turn that finding into the absolute claim that “users can stop CBD at any time without withdrawal.”

The study involved only 30 healthy volunteers, used a pharmaceutical formulation and lasted four weeks. Nine participants also discontinued during the initial treatment period because of adverse events, reminding us again that absence of withdrawal is not the same as absence of side effects.

A more accurate conclusion is:

Controlled human research has not demonstrated a clear CBD withdrawal syndrome, but the evidence base is still relatively small.

Is CBD addictive like THC?

CBD and THC are different cannabinoids.

Pure CBD itself is not controlled under the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, whereas THC and several other cannabinoids are controlled substances. See the UK Home Office cannabinoid licensing factsheet.

The FSA also describes CBD as non-intoxicating in the sense that it does not produce the characteristic “high” associated with THC.

This is why research involving cannabis should not automatically be treated as research about purified CBD.

It is particularly important for Valley CBD because our oils are formulated using CBD isolate rather than broad-spectrum or full-spectrum extracts. We should still avoid suggesting that this makes a retail CBD product medically safer or completely risk-free.

Does high-strength CBD have a greater risk of addiction?

There is currently no good evidence showing that simply making a CBD oil more concentrated turns purified CBD into an addictive substance.

A stronger bottle tells you how much CBD is present in a given volume. It does not prove that the product has a different pharmacological addiction profile.

However, concentration matters for a different reason.

A more concentrated oil makes it possible to consume a larger quantity of CBD in a smaller volume, so total CBD exposure still matters for safety.

The evidence therefore does not justify moving from “CBD appears to have low addiction potential” to “high-strength CBD is completely safe for long-term daily use”.

“Not addictive” does not mean “risk-free”

This is an important distinction.

The FSA currently advises healthy adults consuming CBD foods to limit their intake to 10mg CBD per day. It states that greater lifetime exposure increases the likelihood of longer-term adverse effects, including effects involving the liver and thyroid.

The FSA also advises that vulnerable groups should avoid CBD unless under medical direction. These groups include:

• children and people under 18;
• people who are pregnant or breastfeeding;
• people trying to conceive; and
• people taking medication.

CBD can also cause effects such as drowsiness and can interact with certain medicines.

So a responsible answer to “Is CBD addictive?” is not:

“No, therefore take as much as you like.”

It is:

“Current evidence suggests purified CBD has low abuse and dependence potential, while separate safety considerations still apply.”

Why research doses are not consumer recommendations

You may notice something striking about the studies discussed above.

Researchers used hundreds or even thousands of milligrams of CBD.

The withdrawal trial used 1,500mg per day, while the abuse-potential study tested single doses as high as 4,500mg.

Those amounts are research doses from controlled pharmaceutical studies.

They should not be converted into drops of Valley CBD oil or treated as evidence that consumers should take comparable quantities.

Current FSA food guidance for healthy adults is a maximum of 10mg CBD per day, which is completely different from the doses investigated in those pharmaceutical experiments.

We therefore report research doses as scientific facts while never presenting them as consumer dosing instructions.

Can you build a tolerance to CBD?

This question is harder to answer confidently.

The existing evidence about CBD's abuse and withdrawal profile is much stronger than the evidence needed to make broad claims about whether tolerance might develop under every pattern of long-term consumer use.

We therefore should not claim either that tolerance definitely never occurs or that people inevitably need more CBD over time.

If someone finds themselves repeatedly increasing their CBD intake, that is not a reason to continue escalating the amount — particularly given current FSA exposure guidance.

Can someone become reliant on taking CBD every day?

People can form routines around many products or behaviours without developing physical drug dependence.

For example, a person may feel reluctant to stop something because it has become part of their daily routine. That is different from demonstrating a pharmacological withdrawal syndrome.

The human withdrawal study discussed above did not detect a withdrawal syndrome when pharmaceutical CBD was stopped abruptly after four weeks, but that does not allow us to make assumptions about every individual, every retail formulation or indefinite use.

What about CBD products that contain THC?

This is another reason product composition matters.

Pure CBD itself is not controlled under UK drug law, but products containing controlled cannabinoids such as THC can have a different legal and pharmacological profile. The Home Office specifically distinguishes isolated CBD from preparations containing controlled cannabinoids.

The FSA also cautions that consumers can potentially be exposed to THC even when some products are described as “THC-free”.

That is why independent laboratory information and understanding what type of CBD product you are looking at matter.

It is also why a study of cannabis or THC should never be casually presented as if it were a study of CBD isolate.

Frequently asked questions

Is CBD addictive?

Current evidence suggests purified CBD has low abuse and dependence potential. WHO's Expert Committee on Drug Dependence recommended that preparations considered to be pure CBD should not be internationally controlled on the basis of abuse or dependence.

Can CBD cause withdrawal symptoms?

A small randomised study involving 30 healthy volunteers found no evidence of a withdrawal syndrome after highly purified pharmaceutical CBD was abruptly discontinued following four weeks of use. The study is reassuring but too limited to justify saying withdrawal is impossible in every situation.

Is high-strength CBD more addictive?

There is not good evidence showing that a higher CBD concentration by itself makes purified CBD addictive. Higher concentration can, however, make it easier to consume more CBD, so total exposure remains an important safety consideration.

Is CBD addictive like THC?

CBD and THC have different pharmacological and legal profiles. Pure CBD itself is not a controlled substance under UK drug law, while THC is controlled.

Can CBD get you high?

CBD does not produce the characteristic intoxication associated with THC. However, CBD products may contain trace or sometimes unintended quantities of controlled cannabinoids, which is why product composition matters.

Does non-addictive mean CBD is completely safe?

No. Addiction potential is only one aspect of safety. CBD can produce adverse effects and interact with medicines, and current FSA guidance limits healthy-adult CBD food intake to 10mg per day.

Can I take CBD if I use medication?

Current FSA advice is that people taking medication should avoid CBD unless under medical direction because of the potential for interactions and gaps in safety evidence.

The bottom line

The current evidence gives us reasonable grounds to say that purified CBD has low abuse and dependence potential.

WHO's expert review reached that conclusion, a controlled human abuse-potential study found substantially less abuse-related response to purified CBD than to comparison drugs, and a small withdrawal trial found no evidence of a withdrawal syndrome after short-term high-dose pharmaceutical CBD use.

But those findings should not be turned into claims that CBD is completely safe, that everyone should take it every day, or that high-strength CBD is appropriate at unlimited doses.

The scientifically responsible position is that low addiction potential and overall safety are separate questions.

For UK consumers, current FSA safety guidance — including the 10mg-per-day guidance for healthy adults and additional cautions for medication users and other vulnerable groups — still applies.

This article provides general information about published research and current UK guidance. It is not medical advice.