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What is CHS? Maryland doctor explains an illness linked to chronic marijuana use.

Maryland doctor describes illness caused by chronic marijuana use
Maryland doctor describes illness caused by chronic marijuana use 04:43

BALTIMORE -- An illness linked to chronic marijuana use is sending people to emergency rooms as cannabis legalization continues to spread across the country.

According to data from the Department of Public Health, cannabis-related emergency room visits increased by 53% in Maryland from 2022 to 2023. Recreational marijuana use became legal for adults in Maryland on July 1, 2023.

Some of those hospital visits are related to a severe condition that develops after using high concentrations of cannabinoids over a long time, called Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS). This illness poses potential health risks with the quickly changing drug.

What are the symptoms of CHS?

Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome illness is gaining traction on social media with users describing a litany of symptoms linked to cannabis use, including stomach pains, migraines, nausea and diarrhea.

"This first started happening to me last year, every four-to-six months or so and I would spend a day or two going through a cycle of vomit-shower-sleep vomit-shower-sleep," a TikTok user said.

Ron Buckley, a CHS sufferer, remembers similar symptoms from what he initially believed was a mystery illness.

"I couldn't get out of bed, uncontrollable vomiting, I couldn't keep anything down, not even water," Buckley said.

Buckley lost 30 pounds in two weeks, was repeatedly examined, and was still not given a diagnosis.

"Finally, when I went to the last ER, the nurse that was helping me in the ER looked at my chart and saw that my THC levels were ridiculously high and was like, 'You have CHS.'"

CHS, which was first medically documented in 2004, affects people who use high doses of marijuana frequently.

"As soon as she told me that, I was like, I think this might be it, me and my wife just looked it up right then, and apparently it's frequently happening," Buckley said. 

Buckley said he used marijuana for 20 years and never experienced anything like CHS.

"Obviously, I knew something was wrong with me because I couldn't keep anything down, literally the wheelchair they put me in, I was falling out of," Buckley said. "I couldn't even stay in the wheelchair."

Not easily diagnosed

Dr. Chris Wilbert, an emergency physician at MedStar Health, said CHS is not as uncommon as most think.

"It can also be challenging for patients to be accepting that that's the cause of the symptoms because they think, 'Hey this is marijuana, this is something that should be helping me, you can go and get a medical marijuana card and it's supposed to help me, but now paradoxically it is causing me to vomit,'" Wilbert said.

 Wilbert said CHS is often overlooked or misdiagnosed because of its misperception and the lack of tests for diagnosis.

"So, this last time when it started happening, I started feeling lightheaded, kind of like cold sweats almost, and then immediately my stomach turned upside down," Buckley said.

Emergency department doctors said they are seeing an uptick in CHS cases.

"Anecdotally, it does feel like we are seeing a lot more patients coming in with CHS, with vomiting, with abdominal pain," Wilbert said.

Tracking effects of cannabis use

The Maryland Department of Health launched a public health data dashboard as a new tool to track the effects of cannabis use.

It shows data on ER visits, calls to poison control, youth and adult use, plus various cannabis trends. The dashboard reveals that Maryland has seen more than 800 ER visits a month involving cannabis.

"Be wary of what you are using, the marijuana today is completely different from what it was 15, 20 years ago," Buckley said.

Wilbert said taking hot showers and staying hydrated can alleviate some of the symptoms.

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