This rare disorder is only seen in chronic, long term, and daily marijuana users. The first cases described in the literature date back just over a decade and therefore CHS is a relatively new disorder that marijuana addiction can often go undiagnosed—or misdiagnosed—for many years. The best way to manage CHS and prevent complications is to discontinue cannabis use. Although these phases describe the typical progression, each individual’s experience with CHS may vary.

• If you or someone you care about is struggling with heavy marijuana use and unrelenting vomiting, learning about CHS might explain many of the symptoms you’re seeing.
• Additionally, since vomiting leads to dehydration, sipping small amounts of water or electrolyte-rich drinks can help prevent complications.
• The condition can make people experience severe bouts of vomiting that are relieved by taking a hot bath or shower.
• Some individuals, for instance, also admitted to smoking 2000 mg of THC per day.

Why might CHS be on the rise?

While marijuana seems to bring on nausea in the stomach, in the brain it usually has opposite effect. When cannabinoids bind with brain receptors, they tend to prevent nausea and vomiting. Experts think that when you first smoke weed, your brain signals are more important, but after repeated use of the drug, the brain receptors may no longer respond to marijuana in the same way, causing more nausea and vomiting. When you use marijuana for many years, it can start to slowly change how the receptors in your body respond to the cannabinoid chemicals.

Marijuana Addiction Treatment in Atlanta, GA

Without more research, there is no definitive answer, but doctors have linked the increase in CHS cases to widespread legalization, along with higher tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in modern marijuana. The commercial industry that blossomed after legalization "touted its products as beneficial" while focusing on "engineering a quicker, more intense high," the Times said. While chs syndrome the biggest risk factor for CHS is heavy cannabis use, "most people who smoke cannabis daily don't get this," Christopher Andrews, a clinical professor of gastroenterology at the University of Calgary, said to National Geographic. "It comes and goes and it happens in cycles," Deepak Cyril D'Souza, the director of the Yale Center for the Science of Cannabis and Cannabinoids, said to the outlet.

Scientists demonstrate THC-predominant cannabis flower effective in managing PTSD symptoms in UK civilian study

However, one study indicated that over 32% of people who identified as frequent marijuana users and visited an emergency department met the criteria for CHS. This figure might suggest the problem is more common than many realize, especially as more U.S. states legalize marijuana and higher-potency products flood the market. One study found that 32.9% of self-reported frequent marijuana users who came to an emergency department for care met the criteria for CHS. With the widespread use, increased potency and legalization of marijuana in multiple states in the U.S., CHS may be becoming increasingly common.

• When you stop using cannabis entirely, you can step into the recovery phase.
• There may also be abdominal discomfort or pain and diminished eating ability.
• This complex interplay between the cannabinoid system and the GI system can lead to the development of CHS in susceptible individuals.

CHS has also been implicated in a case report of a 6-year-old epileptic patient on Epidiolex®, a pharmaceutical with 98% pure CBD, and only traces of THC after its removal by partial centrifugal chromatography (Katz et al., 2023). Additionally researchers have pointed to overstimulation of CB1 or TRPV1 receptors – leading the body to reduce the amount of those receptors – as a possible mechanism for CHS. While these are all just theories, they make sense with what we know about cannabis and its impact on the human body. Appetite is typically unaffected during this phase, but researchers note that consumers tend to administer more cannabis as a nausea remedy.