Rare Illness Called Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Affecting Chronic Marijuana Users Jake Lewis - VICE
go to original January 2, 2017

In states where marijuana is legal, doctors are seeing increase in a violent illness that causes severe abdominal pain and vomiting. Dr. Jon LaPook reports on the little-known illness that is treated with hot showers or baths. (CBS News)

Weed isn't for everyone. Mind you, for most, the worst that could happen after a couple of tokes is that you'll feel mildly dizzy, throw up a bit on your shoes or potentially be exposed to a Ben Harper singalong.

However, for a very small number of regular users, there's a much more unpleasant consequence to contend with.

Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome - or "CHS" - is a condition associated with chronic cannabis abuse. Its three primary symptoms are nausea, abdominal pains and cyclical vomiting, an ailment where you retch or throw up far more often than you should (around six to 12 times an hour). So not really the desired effects when you've just spent £10 ($15) on a gram of leaves.

The word "cannabinoid" might ring a bell; it's started to crop up a little more since people realized that weed is good for more than enhancing video games and passing the time at school. But if it still means nothing to you, here's a very brief explanation: Cannabinoids are a class of chemical compounds, some of which occur naturally in the human body, with the rest found in cannabis and other plants. They're also responsible for all the miracle stories you'll have heard about medicinal marijuana: It's the cannabinoids that help to treat everything from glaucoma to epilepsy.

Unfortunately, cannabinoids don't react so well to CHS sufferers. And because there's little understanding of why this is, the condition is often misdiagnosed. According to the testimonies of patients I read online, this usually leads to numerous visits to the hospital, endless CT scans, and all other kinds of tests that, more often than not, paint a picture of a perfectly healthy person who just happens to throw up a lot.

Read the rest at VICE

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