An Umbrella Review Found Different Substance-Use Evidence for CBD Alone and THC–CBD Combinations

A 2025 umbrella review found limited, inconclusive evidence for CBD alone on substance-use outcomes, while nabiximols showed positive findings for cannabis withdrawal and craving. Evidence for the combination cannot isolate a CBD-only treatment effect.

This was a review of reviews

The synthesis included 22 systematic reviews, five with meta-analyses, and assessed review quality using AMSTAR 2. Its unit of evidence was not 22 new independent clinical trials. Review counts should not be presented as though each adds a separate patient experiment.

The outcome changed the conclusion

Withdrawal and craving differ from abstinence, cessation or sustained reduction of substance use. A benefit for symptoms during withdrawal does not establish long-term recovery. The authors found the evidence for CBD on several use-related outcomes limited and inconclusive across different substances.

The intervention must remain identifiable

Nabiximols contains THC and CBD. Its findings do not show that a retail CBD product reproduces the effect or that CBD alone accounts for it. Conversely, a null or uncertain CBD-only result does not negate a separately measured combination outcome.

Interpreting the evidence

When citing this synthesis, name both the preparation and endpoint. It supports a more qualified conclusion than a claim that CBD treats addiction generally. Its review-level findings do not establish an individual regimen or justify replacing treatment on the basis of a cannabinoid label.

Related reading: interpreting cannabis tolerance claims.

Research reference

Bertrand Redonnet; Filiz Eren; Guillaume Avenin; Maria Melchior; Murielle Mary‐Krause (2025). Efficacy of cannabidiol alone or in combination with Δ‐9‐tetrahydrocannabinol for the management of substance use disorders: An umbrella review of the evidence. Addiction (Abingdon, England). doi:10.1111/add.16745.

This discussion draws on the abstract and introductory material in the supplied research synthesis.