New research on cannabis and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in younger patients says that CBD extracts “appear to provide meaningful benefits for children and adolescents with ASD, showing moderate improvements in social responsiveness and small yet notable reductions in disruptive behaviors and anxiety.”
Researchers, who presented their findings at the 2025 European Congress of Psychiatry in Madrid earlier this month, said that while more research is needed, their conclusions “support the potential consideration of CBD cannabis extracts in ASD treatment plans.”
The meta-analysis looked at three published studies on the marijuana component, together involving 276 participants. Subjects’ ages ranged from 5 to 21 years old, with a mean age of 10.5.
While patients who took cannabidiol extract showed better social responsiveness and reductions in disruptive behaviors and anxiety compared to the placebo group, authors of the new study noted that the CBD group showed no significant difference in adverse side-effects compared to the placebo.
Dosages in the studies started at 1 milligram of CBD per kilogram of body weight and were titrated up to 10 mg/kg per day. The orally administered extracts contained minimal THC, at ratios of 9-to-1 or 20-t0-1.
“The global population prevalence of ASD diagnosis amongst children and adolescents is growing, but many treatment pathways are not effective,” lead investigator on the study, Lara Cappelletti Beneti Branco, of the University of São Paulo, said in a news release about the presentation. “It is promising to see the effect of CBD cannabis extract on the study participants. However, there still needs to be considerable focus on further research with larger trials to clarify its efficacy and safety in managing ASD.”
Professor Geert Dom, president of the European Psychiatric Association, said of the findings: “It is with delight that we see the results of this meta-analysis and we hope to see further research into this so we can move towards a solution to the unmet need within this community.”
“ASD can be extremely frustrating for all involved; parents of children and adolescents with the disorder, the treating clinicians and of course the children and adolescents themselves,” Dom said in the release. “A large part of this frustration is down to finding a viable treatment option that works to reduce symptoms.”
The nearly dozen-person research team represented a range of institutions worldwide, including Università degli Studi di Milano, in Italy; the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston; Yale University and others.
Among the limitations of the analysis, authors wrote, were the small number of studies it comprised, the studies’ own limited samples and “significant heterogeneity.”
A separate review out of Brazil also recently concluded that “preliminary evidence suggests potential benefits” of CBD-rich cannabis formulations to treat ASD, including improvements around anxiety, sleep and behavior.
“Regarding core ASD symptoms and behavioral outcomes,” that report said, “cannabinoids demonstrated greater efficacy compared to placebo in some studies.”
Researchers acknowledged that “adverse events varied” among patients, and “response to treatment was inconsistent across individuals,” underscoring the need for further study.
Separate research published late last year found that high-CBD, low-THC cannabis products have the potential to “significantly improve the quality of life” for children with autism and epilepsy disorders.
“While more research is necessary,” authors of that study wrote, “this review, together with other reviews of the literature, suggests that medical cannabis is potentially a viable treatment option alongside established medical treatment guidelines. This is especially true for pediatric ASD.”
Another, federally funded report published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that cannabis use during early pregnancy was not associated with child autism.
That analysis included data from 178,948 pregnancies born to 146,296 unique individuals between 2011 and 2019. Children were screened at various points on autism and developmental measures.
“In this study, maternal prenatal cannabis use was not associated with childhood ASD after adjusting for potential cofounders,” the research found, “including sociodemographic characteristics, other noncannabis substance use and maternal comorbidities.”
In February, meanwhile, officials in Ohio agreed to advance autism spectrum disorder as a possible qualifying condition for medical marijuana. The proposal next proceeds to an open public comment period and expert review.
Connecticut added ASD as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis late last year. Other states that already recognize the disorder as a specific eligible condition include Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Utah.
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