Nearly half of U.S. respondents in a large international survey reported having used a CBD-only product, while almost one in five said they had used CBD within the past year.
The study, published September 19 in the International Journal of Drug Policy, analyzed responses from 79,644 people ages 16 to 65 in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Among U.S. respondents, 46.4% reported having used a CBD-only product at some point in their lives, 19.3% reported use during the past year and 7.7% said they had used CBD during the previous month.
CBD use was also common elsewhere. Lifetime use was reported by 38.3% of respondents in Canada, 28% in the United Kingdom, 24% in Germany, 20.8% in Australia and 16.2% in New Zealand.
Pain, anxiety and depression were among the most frequently reported reasons for using CBD across the six countries.
In the United States, 46.5% of CBD users reported anxiety as a reason for use. Across all six countries, the percentage citing pain ranged from 32.3% in the United Kingdom to 49.3% in New Zealand, while between 24.2% and 31.1% reported using CBD for depression.
CBD oils and edibles were among the most commonly used product types. In the United States, 34.2% of CBD users reported consuming edibles.
Researchers also found a strong relationship between CBD use and medical marijuana use. Having used marijuana for medical purposes with a prescription was the factor most strongly associated with past-year CBD use across all six countries.
Access restrictions also appeared to influence CBD use in some countries. Among people who had used CBD, 28.4% in the United Kingdom and 39.6% in Australia and New Zealand said one reason was that they could not legally access medical marijuana.
Researchers said purchasing patterns generally reflected differences in national regulatory systems, suggesting that CBD laws and marijuana access can influence how and why consumers use CBD products.
The authors concluded that CBD use was widespread but varied considerably between countries, while motivations for use were relatively consistent, particularly for pain, anxiety and depression.
Because the research was based on a cross-sectional survey, it identifies patterns and associations but does not establish that CBD effectively treats any of the conditions respondents reported using it for.
