The number of people going to the emergency room for a marijuana-induced illness has doubled since 2017, according to new research.
The condition, called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), sends those affected to the hospital with a seemingly endless cycle of vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain that can last a week and be life-threatening due to extreme dehydration, seizures and kidney failure.
At home, people can often only find relief in a hot shower or bath, but in the hospital, anti-nausea medications and intravenous fluids can help treat nausea, vomiting, and dehydration.
In June, a case study told the story of an unnamed 22-year-old Canadian woman, who after eight years of regular cannabis use, died from heart problems that her doctors attributed to CHS.
He had gone to the doctor six times in the months before his death, with nausea and vomiting that lasted a week straight. At the time of her death, she was severely dehydrated and lacked the nutrients that regulated her heart rate.
Dr. María Isabel Angulo, from the University of Illinois, published the reportsaying that CHS now affects approximately 2.75 million Americans each year, and the syndrome has increased the most in men between 16 and 34 years old.
He said two factors are contributing to this rise: Marijuana has become more potent and more available as legalization of the drug spreads across the United States.
About five percent of Americans who smoke marijuana are diagnosed with CHS each year.
In recent decades, marijuana has become more potent as more THC, the drug’s active ingredient, is added to the plant as new generations are grown.
According Yale School of MedicineIn 1995, the average THC content in cannabis was around four percent.
By 2017, the amount had more than quadrupled, making the average THC content in cannabis around 17 percent.
Today, on average, the amount of THC in the product has increased by 18 to 35 percent, according to National Geographic.
Dr. Deepak Cyril D’Souza, a psychiatrist at Yale University School of Medicine, said national geography: ‘The cannabis that is available now is much more potent than it was 30 years ago.’
CHS does not appear to be caused by marijuana mixed with other substances; Instead, the main factor appears to be how often people consume THC and the amount of THC they consume.
Dr. Angulo Review Compiled previous research from the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary who used surveys of CHS patients and hospital data from Alberta to estimate the number of people visiting the emergency room with this condition in North America.
It is difficult to say with certainty how many people use marijuana, but the National Center Against Drug Abuse puts the figure at about 55 million, which would make this condition affect about five percent of marijuana users.
People most at risk for this condition are those who have been using the medication every day for a year. It is also more common in people who started using the drug before age 16.
Scientists have yet to discover what causes someone to develop such an extreme reaction to marijuana.
His main theory, according to Cleveland Clinicis that frequent use of the medication causes changes in a part of your body called the endocannabinoid system.
It is a network of chemicals and proteins in the brain and gut that control pain response, brain development, appetite, stress response, and gastrointestinal movement.
THC is one of many chemicals that can attach and cause changes in this system. Over time, constant stimulation of the network can cause it to become unbalanced, leading the body to cyclical and extreme vomiting.
Doctors diagnose someone with CHS if they have had three or more episodes of cyclical vomiting, smoke marijuana for more than four days a week, and whose symptoms disappear after six months of quitting.
At home, it can be difficult for patients to overcome this disease, as suddenly quitting smoking can lead to withdrawal that worsens the disease.
In the hospital, doctors treat the disease by giving the patient anti-nausea medications and intravenous fluids to rehydrate and restore the balance of crucial nutrients.
In some cases, patients also need antipsychotic medications because excessive marijuana use has led to psychosis. This can include hallucinations, extreme paranoia, and delusions.
After recovering in the hospital, doctors can send patients home with antidepressant medications and advise them to stop using marijuana altogether, Dr. Angulo said.