It’s no longer just older, heavy, daily pot users who are thought vulnerable to the dreaded Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS), and the screaming pain and projectile vomiting that go along with it.
Newer research suggests that the illness has established itself among younger users as well , including 15 to 24-year-olds and possibly even younger.
That wasn’t supposed to happen. Ever since CHS emerged a dozen or so years ago, science has operated on the assumption that it was a result of long-term use. After all, that’s who was showing up in emergency rooms — people in their 30s and 40s, often admitting to pot use 5 or more times daily.
Not anymore. Late teens and young adults are now the fastest growing segment of CHS sufferers.
It seems that no one is quite sure what caused the shift in the CHS patient population. The most popular theory is that it is a response to the ever-increasing THC content in today’s cannabis products. It isn’t difficult to find cannabis with THC content of at least 30% and as high as 80%, available commercially.
An excellent overview appeared in a recent issue of The Hill, a news organization focused on “policy, business and international relations.” Here’s a link:
Cases of ‘scromiting’ condition tied to cannabis use spike among teens, young adults: New study
Users now show up in the ER with only a few years of regular use before first experiencing CHS symptoms.
Phase One begins with belly pain and nausea, usually in the morning. As this progresses, users began to treat it with home remedies, especially hot showers.
Phase 2 arrives with daylong bouts of vomiting and more severe pain, enough to drive them to the hospital for emergency care. CHS may not be diagnosed, however, because heavy users of cannabis tend to minimize their use when questioned by a doctor.
Should the patient return to cannabis use post-treatment, as I suspect most do, CHS symptoms can be expected to recur, perhaps again and again, requiring still more emergency visits. It becomes a kind of revolving door,
The ultimate solution remains abstinence from cannabis use. That’s not what many CHS patients want to hear, however.
Like other people with addiction, they’d rather try almost any other solution first.
