Study Links Cannabis Vaping To Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome
- A California study suggests a possible link between cannabis vaping and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), a rare disorder causing severe vomiting.
- Vape cartridge users developed CHS symptoms much faster than marijuana smokers or edible users, raising public health concerns.
- The study found a strong association between vaping and earlier onset of CHS, but it does not establish a causal relationship.
- CHS is a poorly understood condition characterized by stomach pain, intense vomiting ("scromiting"), and relief through hot water baths, and stopping cannabis use usually alleviates symptoms.
A new study by California researchers is raising concerns of a possible link between cannabis vaping and a rare disorder called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS, that can leave users violently vomiting for days.
The researchers found that people who used electronic vape cartridges developed CHS much faster than people who smoked marijuana or used edibles. Megan Mbengue, one of the study’s authors, called the findings combined with increasing vape usage “a massive public health concern.”
“According to our recent study findings, those who utilize vapes alone are hitting it more often throughout the day and developing CHS symptoms sooner than those who smoke—by YEARS,” Mbengue said in a LinkedIn post.
The study, published last week in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, was based on more than 1,130 responses to a digital survey sent to people who said they experienced CHS. It did not prove any causal mechanism between vaping and developing CHS, but found a strong statistically significant association showing vape cartridge users were more likely to both develop CHS sooner compared to smokers and use higher levels of cannabis.
Codi Peterson, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at UC Irvine, cautioned that the results do not prove vaping cannabis is more dangerous than smoking.
“This is just an association that we saw. We certainly can’t say anything definitive,” Peterson told SFGATE. “It’s just something we noticed that people who exclusively vaped developed CHS in a shorter timeline.”
CHS is a new and poorly understood syndrome that afflicts regular cannabis users and was first reported in 2004 but wasn’t officially described with diagnostic criteria until 2016. The symptoms include stomach pain, diarrhea and an extreme vomiting that has been described as “scromiting” because affected individuals sometimes scream while throwing up. People suffering from CHS often take hot water baths to relieve nausea. Ceasing cannabis use usually relieves the symptoms; however, at least three deaths have been linked to the syndrome.
Read the full article on SFGATE