Cannabinoid Hyperemesis: How Rare?

I recently read a CBS news story about CHS, or Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, describing a 100% increase in cases in Colorado since the legalization of marijuana there.  A search for ‘THC’ and ‘CHS’ pulls stories from a range of sources including High Times, Wikipedia, Fusion.net, and Current Psychiatry.  A broader search reveals articles calling the disorder ‘fake news‘. Most articles about CHS describe the condition as ‘rare’, but becoming less rare as the legalization movement takes root and grows (like a weed).  The syndrome occurs in heavy, long-time users of marijuana who first notice reduced appetite, mild nausea, and sometimes weight loss.  Those symptoms, and the symptoms that follow, are relieved by smoking marijuana, leading those with the condition to become heavier users who come to see marijuana as beneficial to their health. Over time the symptoms worsen to include paroxysms of severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.  Patients often seek help from a number of health practitioners, including alternative health treatments.  Tests come up negative, and patients continue to turn to marijuana to treat the symptoms– along with hot baths and showers, which for some reason make the pain and nausea more-tolerable. Since we live in an era of social media I’ll add at this point that I have no strong feelings toward marijuana.  I don’t kick people off buprenorphine products for testing positi...
Source: Suboxone Talk Zone - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Acute Pain Chronic pain pharmacology receptor actions abdominal pain and THC cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome CHS marijuana nausea and THC Source Type: blogs