LIFESTYLE , MARIJUANA LAW , NEWS Is Your Cannabis Making You Sick? Questions Regarding Cannabinoid Hype

What if your greatest source of relief became your greatest downfall? Cannabis is celebrated for its anti-analgesic effects but recently more patients than ever have reported similar symptoms of an alarming condition. Commonly mistaken for Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is a recently discovered condition relating to cannabinoid toxicity that develops in the body of experienced smokers. If you have experienced nausea, vomiting, the compulsive need for a hot shower and toke daily, you should read on.

Patients experiencing Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) all share common symptoms including debilitating nausea and vomiting. Most interesting is almost all sufferers universally praise hot showers as providing the only source of relief from these symptoms. CHS has become more notable in the media recently with the rise of dabbing and concentrates but studies uncovered CHS as early as 2004 where studies focused solely on marijuana smokers. A clinical study from Philadelphia, PA in 2009 found the average duration of use before being affected was typically 16 years with the earliest onset occurring after 3 years of “heavy use” heavy use was described in this study to be anything in excess of 3-5 times smoking daily.

The Syndrome can be broken down into three phases: prodromal, hyper-emetic and recovery phase. The prodromal phase can last anywhere from weeks to months to years. This period is characterized by daily bouts of morning nausea, a general fear of vomiting and abdominal discomfort. Upon entering the hyper-emetic phase, patients are struck with a sudden urge to vomit, coupled with very intense gastric distress. The sickness is usually described as persistent, overwhelming and incapacitating. The vomiting can be more than 5 times per hour and often without warning which is why it can be confused with Cyclic Vomiting, the main difference being CHS is directly caused by the cannabinoid reaction to the body. 70% of patients suffering from CHS report losing over 10 pounds of body weight during the hyper-emetic phase. This can cause renal failure and frequently leads to costly emergency room visits.

The learned behavior of frequent hot bathing is universally praised by sufferers as providing the only source of comfort during this time. Doctors are unsure as to why this gives such relief to the suffering but the 2009 Philadelphia study stated:

“hot bathing may act by correcting the cannabis-induced disequilibrium of the thermoregulatory system of the hypothalamus.”

In layman terms this states that the cannabinoids may be tricking the bodies regulatory systems into misinterpreting their normal signals, resulting in confusion of the bodies normal regulating systems. The recovery phase occurs when normal eating patterns can resume, weight is regained and bathing can return to a normal frequency. If left untreated CHS can lead to acute Renal failure.

The information in this article is not provided to scare anyone away from the positive benefits of Cannabis but only to shine a light on an issue suffering patients may be in denial dealing with. It is difficult to understand that something that has provided so much joy and relief in the past may be the cause of recurring issues. With so many amazing medical uses of Cannabis, it is important to also be aware of emerging matters that because of federal regulations may not have been studied thoroughly enough on a clinical level. This is just another reason why Cannabis must be declassified as a schedule 1 narcotic so all appropriate medical testing can be performed freely. We believe these negative effects could just as likely come from negative reactions to mold or pesticides in the flowers we consume, but without this testing, we can never be truly sure.