The New Marijuana-Related Illness Increases In States That Legalize The Use Of Cannabis

Some people who use cannabis in legalized states are affected by a mysterious marijuana-related illness. The hospital emergency rooms were occupied by an increasing rate of patients with the said condition.

The marijuana-related illness is known as Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. Its symptoms include severe abdominal pain and violent vomiting. The illness is associated with heavy and long-term use of marijuana. The CHS has first detected 10 years ago and little is known yet about it.

Dr. Kennon Heard, a physician at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, explained that the most likely cause of the illness is that people using marijuana frequently and in high doses have changes in the receptors in their body, and those receptors become dysregulated in some way, and these start causing pain. He further said that the science behind it is not yet clear. 

Huffington Post reports that the emergency room diagnoses for CHS in two of Colorado's hospitals almost doubled since 2009. This was the year when Colorado made cannabis a medical marijuana. Heard said that as of now, cannabis is also legal for recreational use in the state. "We are seeing it quite frequently." He also said that his colleagues are seeing this on a daily to weekly basis.

The treatment of the symptoms of the CHS includes hot showers and baths. These could also serve as a diagnostic tool for physicians who are looking to identify a patient's illness. Patients are also given an IV of fluids to lessen the vomiting. In addition, the treatment that could cure CHS is to lessen the use of marijuana or stop using it, according to Teen Vogue.

The illness could also lead to kidney failure if not treated. On the other hand, the symptoms will stop once the use of marijuana is ended.