If you’ve spent any time in cannabis circles, you’ve probably heard the term “scromiting” thrown around. Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome, or CHS, as it’s commonly called, is a condition where long-term, heavy cannabis users develop cycles of severe nausea and vomiting.
A new study published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research took a pretty deep dive into CHS, and I think the findings are worth talking about. I’d like to start with a quote from Dr. Riley Kirk, one of the co-authors of the study from her socials:
“Who paid for this study? Nobody. All of us authors donated our time and effort to collect this data, publish this paper, and collect this data. Because we are not anti-cannabis, many of us are cannabis consumers, and we care about this community deeply.”
So What Did They Actually Do?
The research team developed an anonymous survey and distributed it through CHS-focused social media communities. Over 1,100 people responded, folks who either had a formal CHS diagnosis or strongly suspected they had it. They ensured recruitment happened organically, without paid advertising. The survey collected data from September to December, 2024.
Cool, Did They Find Anything?
96% of survey takers were daily cannabis users. About half used it 6 or more times a day. So we’re not talking about casual, occasional users here. These were heavy, frequent users. Of which I myself fall into…
The overwhelming majority were inhaling their cannabis, either by smoking flower or using vape cartridges. The picture was also pretty clear that those who exclusively used vape cartridges developed CHS symptoms significantly faster than people who exclusively smoked flower.
Dr. Kirk theorized about this on her “Bioactive” Podcast. She states that THC acts as a partial agonist that doesn’t fully activate the CB1 receptor, whereas some of the synthetics are borderline full agonists on CB1.
She states that in theory, this would increase the chance of developing CHS because it’s no longer just a “little tickle” (it’s a technical term) on the receptor, but now it’s a “punch” on that receptor.
Alright, What’s In It For Me?
One of the things I found most valuable about this study for us normal non-scientists is the focus on what’s called the “prodromal phase,” basically the early warning stage before things get bad. It usually consists of morning nausea and stomach issues. And most of us would just smoke through that, thinking the cannabis was helping, right? Nope!
This is actually the first study to specifically examine the timing of those early warning symptoms, which is a big deal from a harm-reduction standpoint. If you’re a daily cannabis user waking up nauseated on a regular basis, that’s worth paying attention to.
The Bottom Line
The takeaway here isn’t “cannabis bad.” It’s “know your body.” If you’re a heavy daily user waking up nauseated regularly, that’s your body trying to tell you something worth listening to. At least IMHO. If you are interested in reading the study and nerding out as I do, you can find it at the link below. Until next time, cannanerds!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/full-chs-paper-154700916
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