UK Doctors are reporting a case of early puberty in a two-year-old boy who was given cannabidiol (CBD) oil his mother purchased online to help control epileptic seizures.

Studies on the impact of CBD on the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis, implicated in precocious puberty, have been conflicting, write the doctors in BMJ Case Reports.

The two-year-old presented with signs of early puberty, including genital enlargement and growth of pubic hair, change in body odour and acne, which developed over six months.

Seven months prior to diagnosis, his mother began giving the child CBD oil purchased online for severe refractory epilepsy.