Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome — with severe vomiting, abdominal pain and temporary relief through compulsive hot bathing — is increasingly affecting adolescents and young adults.

As cannabis use among youth rises in Canada — and THC potency reaches record highs — emergency departments are seeing a surge in cases of a once-rare condition: cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS).

Characterized by relentless vomiting, abdominal pain and temporary relief through compulsive hot showers or baths, CHS is increasingly affecting adolescents and young adults. Yet few people — including many clinicians — know it exists.

Canada ranks among the highest globally for youth cannabis use, with 43 per cent of 16-19-year-olds reporting use in the past year. Usage peaks among those 20–24 years, with nearly half (48 per cent) reporting past-year use.

This rise in regular, heavy use coincides with a 400 per cent increase in THC potency since the 1980s. Strains with THC levels above 25 per cent are now common. As cannabis becomes more potent and accessible, clinicians are seeing more cases of CHS, a condition virtually unheard of before 2004.

CHS unfolds in three phases:

  1. Prodromal phase: Nausea and early morning discomfort begin. Users increase cannabis consumption, thinking it will relieve symptoms.

  2. Hyperemetic phase: Intense vomiting, dehydration and abdominal pain follow. Hot showers or baths provide temporary relief — a hallmark of CHS.

  3. Recovery phase: Symptoms resolve after stopping cannabis entirely.

Diagnosis is often delayed. One reason is because CHS mimics conditions like gastroenteritis or eating disorders, leading to costly CT scans, MRIs and gastric emptying tests. One telltale sign — compulsive hot bathing — is frequently overlooked, despite its strong diagnostic value.

Youth face unique risks. The brain continues to develop until about age 25, and THC exposure during this critical window can impair cognitive functions like memory, learning and emotional regulation. Heavy cannabis use is associated with heightened risks of anxiety, depression, psychosis and self-harm.

Edit, the link in the article goes to this study:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2796355

Results There were 12 866 ED visits for CHS from 8140 individuals during the study. Overall, the mean (SD) age was 27.4 (10.5) years, with 2834 individuals (34.8%) aged 19 to 24 years, 4163 (51.5%) females, and 1353 individuals (16.6%) with a mental health ED visit or hospitalization in the 2 years before their first CHS ED visit. Nearly 10% of visits (1135 visits [8.8%]) led to hospital admissions. Monthly rates of CHS ED visits increased 13-fold during the 7.5-year study period, from 0.26 visits per 100 000 population in January 2014 to 3.43 visits per 100 000 population in June 2021. Legalization was not associated with an immediate or gradual change in rates of ED visits for CHS; however, commercialization during the COVID-19 pandemic period was associated with an immediate increase in rates of CHS ED visits (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.49; 95% CI, 1.31-1.70). During commercialization, rates of CHS ED visits increased more in women (IRR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.16-1.92) and individuals older than the legal age of cannabis purchase (eg, age 19-24 years: IRR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.19-2.16) than men (IRR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.85-1.37) and individuals younger than the legal age of purchase (IRR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.42-1.45).

  • Amnesigenic
    7•6 days ago

    It’s still the safest recreational substance in existence by a fantastically wide margin

    • @Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
      1•6 days ago

      Safe in the sense that it won’t kill you outright like fentanyl.

      But it’s not safe.

      It doesn’t have to be as bad as other drugs to be a cause for concern.

      • Amnesigenic
        2•6 days ago

        Safe in the sense that it won’t kill you at all, yes, in a literal sense, in a “you’re either stupid or lying if you pretend otherwise” sense. This is the most alarmist article anyone could come up with and it describes vomiting and moderate discomfort that goes away again forever as soon as you take a tolerance break. You are a joke.

          • Amnesigenic
            1•5 days ago

            Nothing in your link proves me wrong, if you’d bothered to read it you’d know that, you’re either illiterate or lying

            • @Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
              1•5 days ago

              Oh, come on now. You are arguing in bath faith if you couldn’t find one thing that “proves you wrong”.

              Here are just a few from that link, and each topic is explored in depth if you click through the supporting links on that page:

              “Hospitalizations for psychotic disorder related to cannabis use accounted for one-third of mental or behavioural disorders between 2006–2015, increasing more than 25 per cent during this time.”

              “Cannabis smoke contains chemicals (toxins, carcinogens and irritants) that are known to negatively affect lung health.”

              “Smoking cannabis may suppress the immune system, which can make you more prone to infection from viruses.”

              “Regular cannabis use can increase the risk of developing psychosis and schizophrenia…”

              “Cannabis impairs the cognitive and motor abilities necessary to operate a motor vehicle and doubles the risk of being involved in a collision.”

              “Cannabis, when inhaled, can potentially trigger stroke, heart attack or inflammation of arteries, especially in those who use cannabis heavily.”

              “Regular use of these products [edibles] has been associated with problematic cannabis use, cannabis use disorder and mental health disorders.”

              “Based on existing research and because of the associated risks of harms, cannabis use should only be considered for people who do not respond to first- and second-line treatments.”

              “Most of the cases of emerging lung and respiratory disorders have been linked to vaping products containing THC from cannabis extracts.”

              “Regular cannabis use is associated with changes in brain structure and function, including changes to the brain’s natural reward pathways.”

              “Regular cannabis use is generally associated with more harmful rather than beneficial effects among people with mental health conditions.”

              “Frequent cannabis use during pregnancy is associated with … Altered neurodevelopment and cognition, and academic under-achievement; and behavioural disturbances among children and young adults, including attention deficits, increased hyperactivity and impulsivity, and increased likelihood of delinquency and substance use.”

              • Amnesigenic
                4•5 days ago

                No proof whatsoever that the referenced psychotic disorders were caused by cannabis use, correlative misrepresentation is nothing new for anti-marijuana propaganda.

                Smoking anything is bad for lung health, does nothing to change the fact that marijuana is the safest recreational substance in existence, especially when ingested in any other way.

                “May supress the immune sustem” no evidence provided lol, unsubstantiated speculation, embarassingly weak

                “Can increase risk of developing schizophrenia” also well documented that it has no chance whatsoever of causing schizophrenia in individuals that aren’t already hereditarily prone to developing it, at most it can accelerate onset

                I’m not going to waste my time individually addressing the many unsubstantiated claims you’ve copypasted here, it’s clear you don’t actually give a shit about what’s true and are just here to push an agenda. Get a job.

                • @Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
                  1•5 days ago

                  No proof whatsoever

                  You didn’t read any of it.

                  Smoking anything is bad for lung health, does nothing to change the fact that marijuana is the safest recreational substance in existence, especially when ingested in any other way.

                  The safest in a group of harmful things doesn’t make it safe!

                  “May supress the immune sustem” no evidence provided lol, unsubstantiated speculation, embarassingly weak

                  Here’s what the research says:

                  “The review of published research shows that cannabis use may impair immune function in many instances and thereby exerts an impact on viral infections including human immune deficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C infection (HCV), and human T-cell lymphotropic type I and II virus (HTLV-I/II).” Maggirwar SB, Khalsa JH. The Link between Cannabis Use, Immune System, and Viral Infections. Viruses. 2021;13(6):1099. Published 2021 Jun 9. doi:10.3390/v13061099

                  “Can increase risk of developing schizophrenia” also well documented that it has no chance whatsoever of causing schizophrenia in individuals that aren’t already hereditarily prone to developing it, at most it can accelerate onset

                  Again, more studies to help you:

                  “This adds to the substantial evidence base that has previously identified cannabis use to associate with increased risk of schizophrenia, by suggesting that the relationship is causal. Such robust evidence may inform public health messages about cannabis use, especially regarding its potential mental health consequences.” Vaucher J, Keating BJ, Lasserre AM, et al. Cannabis use and risk of schizophrenia: a Mendelian randomization study. Mol Psychiatry. 2018;23(5):1287-1292. doi:10.1038/mp.2016.252

                  “To date, the research on the impact of its use has largely been epidemiological in nature and has consistently found that cannabis use is associated with schizophrenia outcomes later in life, even after controlling for several confounding factors.” Casadio P, Fernandes C, Murray RM, Di Forti M. Cannabis use in young people: the risk for schizophrenia. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011;35(8):1779-1787. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.04.007

                  There are dozens more, if you need them.

                  • Amnesigenic
                    2•5 days ago

                    Several more paragraphs of alarmist drug war bullshit, didn’t work the first time idk why you’d think repeating the same failed strategy would yield different results.

                    I never said smoking anything was safe or harmless, I said marijuana was safer than any other recreational drug by far regardless of ingestion method, and that any method other than inhalation completely negates any respiratory effects.

                    Your first study, linked directly because it’s actually really easy to do https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8229290/

                    From the conclusion: “…data are not sufficiently strong to suggest that cannabis use adversely affects the progression of viral diseases…it is also evident that cannabis or its constituents, including THC and CBD, have some beneficial effects such as improving appetite and food intake in patients with HIV/AIDS and positive effects in patients with hepatic steatosis”

                    So not only does your first source not support your claims, it actually says a whole bunch of the opposite!

                    Your second study https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7442038/

                    Again, direct quotes: “We have evidence suggesting that cannabis use, primarily THC in cannabis, in genetically predisposed or at-risk populations, leads to earlier diagnosis of psychosis/schizophrenia.”

                    Oh hey look, that’s literally exactly what I said! And it goes on

                    “Recent trials in therapeutic CBD use are showing its alleviating effect on positive symptoms of schizophrenia and its opposing effect on THC, which warrants further research.”

                    So not only is there no evidence of any risk of psychosis or schizophrenia for anyone who isn’t already genetically predisposed, but there’s actually evidence that specific cannabinoids in isolation can alleviate symptoms! Wow, another source betrays you

                    Your third study https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S014976341100073X

                    And more direct quotes that clearly illustrate how stupid you are: “…cannabis use is clearly not an essential or sufficient risk factor as not all schizophrenic patients have used cannabis and the majority of cannabis users do not develop schizophrenia.”

                    I don’t doubt for a moment that you could post a dozen more studies, and I’m just as certain that they’d all also do nothing to support your inane claims. You lose! If you had any dignity at all you’d admit it, but I think we both know you don’t.