A scary condition dubbed ‘scromiting’ is plaguing some chronic cannabis users.
Officially called Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS), ‘scromiting’ has seen patients screaming and vomiting while seeking medical attention and winding up in hospitals.
‘The term combines “vomiting” and “screaming”‘, explained the Cleveland Clinic’s website.
‘You may have intense pain, which causes you to scream while you vomit.’
People who have used marijuana for 10 to 12 years are at risk of developing the syndrome. It has been more common among people who use cannabis at least once per week, and since they were adolescents.
Symptoms include persistent nausea usually in the morning, vomiting and trying to vomit up to five times an hour, intense abdominal pain, appetite loss and fear of throwing up.
Complications include choking, injuring the esophagus, tooth decay, malnutrition, electrolyte imbalance and dehydration.
Causes of the syndrome remain a mystery to doctors.
‘The main theory is that it may happen due to long-term overstimulation of receptors in your endocannabinoid system (ECS),’ according to the Cleveland Clinic. ‘This may lead to issues with your body’s natural control of nausea and vomiting.’
Cases of CHS are rising and it is becoming a common condition, according to medical experts.
An Ohio doctor told The New York Times earlier this month that ‘scromiting’ patients have been ‘writhing around in pain’ and ‘look so sick’.
More than 4.5million Americans aged 18 to 25 use weed daily or almost every day, and 81% of them meet the criteria for CHS, according to an analysis by a Columbia University epidemiologist.
‘That means almost everybody that uses it every day is reporting problems with it,’ National Institute on Drug Abuse deputy director, Dr Wilson Compton, told the newspaper.
‘That is a very clear warning sign.’
Cases have arisen as 24 US states and the District of Columbia now allow weed for recreational use. Marijuana legalization began almost three decades ago for medical use.
Currently, the only treatment for ‘scromiting’ is to stop using the drug.
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