Study register · as of 18 August 2026

Cannabis studies:
Pipeline & Forecast

245 ongoing cannabis drug trials worldwide, but the research is not evenly distributed. Three therapeutic areas account for almost half of them.

Leaders · ongoing
Pain49
Addiction38
Psychiatry28
245
ongoing trials
25
in advanced phase (III/IV)
≈ 10 % of ongoing
460
completed
How to read this

The basis is every trial from ClinicalTrials.gov and the EU register CTIS whose investigational product is a cannabinoid (THC, CBD, dronabinol, nabiximols and others). A trial in the pipeline is no evidence of efficacy or safety, it only shows where research is happening. An advanced phase (III/IV) does not automatically mean a marketing authorisation application: many projects are academic, investigator-initiated trials and do not target a finished medicinal product.

Where the research concentrates

What is being researched?

Ongoing trials per therapeutic area, where current research is concentrating.

of which late phase ongoing
Pain
494 late phase
Addiction
383 late phase
Psychiatry
287 late phase
Neurology
184 late phase
Oncology
17—
Sleep
61 late phase
Skin
5—
Gastrointestinal
1—

Bar length = ongoing trials, the darker start = trials in late phase (III/IV). Non-specific and pure pharmacology trials (Other, Healthy) are hidden here but included in the table.

Maturity of the pipeline

How far along is the research?

Distribution by maturity, how few projects reach advanced phases.

Completed, existing evidence460
Ongoing, active pipeline245
Late phase III/IV, the furthest advanced25
only about 10 % of ongoing trials are in an advanced phase.

The funnel shows how few projects reach the late phase. An advanced phase is not a marketing authorisation application, many of these trials are academic and do not target a finished medicinal product.

Evidence × pipeline

Established or emerging?

Existing evidence (completed trials) against the active pipeline (ongoing) per area. Bubble size = total number of trials.

0 49 0 98 completed trials → existing evidence ongoing trials → active pipeline Pain: 49 ongoing (4 late phase), 98 completed, 198 total Pain Addiction: 38 ongoing (3 late phase), 82 completed, 135 total Addiction Neurology: 18 ongoing (4 late phase), 46 completed, 99 total Neurology Psychiatry: 28 ongoing (7 late phase), 33 completed, 83 total Psychiatry Oncology / Palliative: 17 ongoing (0 late phase), 11 completed, 40 total Oncology Gastrointestinal: 1 ongoing (0 late phase), 12 completed, 25 total Gastrointestinal Sleep: 6 ongoing (1 late phase), 8 completed, 16 total Sleep Skin / Inflammation: 5 ongoing (0 late phase), 4 completed, 11 total Skin

Top right (pain, addiction) = established fields with a lot of evidence and a large ongoing pipeline. Oncology stands out: more ongoing than completed trials, a young and emerging field.

Active substances

THC or CBD?

Which substance is studied per area, many areas research more CBD than THC.

THC
CBD
29
Pain
42
25
Addiction
28
13
Psychiatry
25
10
Neurology
16
14
Oncology
16
4
Sleep
3
3
Skin
5
0
Gastrointestinal
1

Number of trials per substance. Multiple counting is possible, one trial can test both THC and CBD, so the figures do not add up to the trial count of the area.

Reference · as of 2026-08-18

All the figures in detail

Cannabis trials per therapeutic area, source ClinicalTrials.gov + EU CTIS, as of 2026-08-18
Area Ongoing Late phase THC CBD Compl.
Pain 49 4 29 42 98
Addiction 38 3 25 28 82
Psychiatry 28 7 13 25 33
Neurology 18 4 10 16 46
Oncology / Palliative 17 0 14 16 11
Sleep 6 1 4 3 8
Skin / Inflammation 5 0 3 5 4
Gastrointestinal 1 0 0 1 12
Other 73 6 48 54 129
Healthy volunteers 10 0 8 8 37
Total 245 25 — — 460
Methodology & sources

Where the data comes from

A descriptive count of the worldwide trial registries, not an assessment of efficacy or trial quality.

Sources
ClinicalTrials.gov (US registry) and EU CTIS (EU Clinical Trials Information System).
As of
18 August 2026
Inclusion
Trials whose investigational product is a cannabinoid, THC, CBD, dronabinol, nabiximols and others.
Mapping
Every trial is mapped to a therapeutic area through the indication it studies. Late phase means phase III/IV as reported by the registry.
Analysis
A count of ongoing, completed and substance-specific trials per area. THC and CBD are counted more than once, one trial can test both substances, so the figures do not add up.
No assessment
Frequency is not evidence of efficacy or quality. The evidence is graded (GRADE) on the individual detail pages of the study register, not here.