Hospitalizations Doubled: Why a Syndrome Caused by Cannabis Keeps Getting Missed by Doctors
Emergency physicians and gastroenterologists across the United States and Canada are reporting a significant increase in a little-known disorder tied to prolonged cannabis use — one that is catching both patients and many healthcare providers completely off guard.
Reported by Alejandra Legarda for Al Día News in May 2025, the piece draws on findings from National Geographic, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to examine why cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is becoming harder to ignore — and why it continues to be so frequently missed.
A paradox hiding in plain sight
Cannabis has long been associated with relief from nausea, particularly in oncology settings where it has been used to help patients manage the side effects of chemotherapy. That reputation — well-earned in certain clinical contexts — is precisely what makes CHS so counterintuitive and so frequently overlooked.
A review published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2023) highlights the paradox directly: while moderate cannabis use can have antiemetic properties, prolonged and heavy use produces the opposite effect in a subset of users. The mechanism involves the gradual disruption of the body’s cannabinoid signaling pathways, ultimately leading to cyclical, uncontrollable vomiting that conventional anti-nausea medications cannot reliably address.
The defining symptoms — persistent nausea, recurrent vomiting episodes, and intense abdominal cramping — are shared by several other gastrointestinal conditions, which complicates prompt diagnosis. One of the few features that sets CHS apart is the temporary relief patients experience through hot showers or baths. This compulsive heat-seeking behavior has become one of the most clinically useful distinguishing signs, though it is still frequently overlooked during initial evaluations.
Hospitalizations have doubled
Recent data cited in the report indicate that CHS-related hospitalizations have doubled across both the United States and Canada, a trend that closely tracks the expansion of cannabis legalization and the accompanying rise in the number of frequent, long-term users. As legal access broadens and social acceptance grows, the pool of people who have been consuming cannabis daily for years — the profile most associated with CHS — continues to expand.
Researchers at Denver Health Medical Center and other institutions have noted that the syndrome disproportionately affects people who use cannabis frequently for medical purposes, a population that may be particularly reluctant to accept that the substance they rely on for relief is causing their illness.
The diagnosis gap — and what it costs patients
One of the most persistent obstacles in addressing CHS is the knowledge gap within the healthcare system itself. Many clinicians — including those outside emergency medicine and gastroenterology — do not reflexively consider cannabis use when a patient presents with nausea and cyclical vomiting. The result is diagnostic delay: patients undergo repeated testing, are treated for other suspected conditions, and may spend years cycling through hospitalizations before anyone connects the dots.
The only intervention that definitively resolves CHS is complete cessation of cannabis use. Without that step, the cycle continues regardless of what other treatments are attempted.
Experts quoted in the report are calling for expanded public education campaigns — particularly ones aimed at young people and patients using cannabis therapeutically — to bridge this gap before it widens further. The message from researchers is direct: CHS is not an anomaly or a fringe concern. It is a growing public health consequence of unsupervised, long-term cannabis consumption, and it demands the same level of awareness that other substance-related health risks receive.
“CHS is not a rarity,” the article concludes. “It serves as a reminder that any substance — even those considered natural or medicinal — can have adverse effects if not used responsibly.”
Source: Alejandra Legarda, “A New Health Issue Linked to Cannabis Use,” Al Día News, May 20, 2025. Based on reporting from National Geographic, the New England Journal of Medicine, NIDA, and Denver Health Medical Center.
