Doctors across the country are raising urgent concerns after a startling cannabis-related condition has begun sending users to emergency rooms in record numbers — a violent cycle of symptoms so overwhelming that medical staff have nicknamed it “scromiting.”
It sounds unbelievable until you hear what patients are actually experiencing.
Over the past decade, hospitals have reported a dramatic increase in people arriving with crippling nausea, nonstop vomiting, and stomach pain so intense that many double over on the floor. Some return to the ER multiple times a year, unable to understand why their symptoms keep coming back.
The cause is Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome, or CHS.
Dr. Beatriz Carlini, a research associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, notes just how difficult this condition can be to diagnose:
“A person often will have multiple emergency department visits until it is correctly recognized, costing thousands of dollars each time.”
The attacks are brutal — and loud. CHS episodes typically show up within 24 hours of cannabis use and can last days. Medical staff coined the term “scromiting” because many patients scream from the pain while they vomit.
Dr. Chris Buresh, an emergency medicine specialist, says treating CHS is uniquely challenging:
“There are currently no therapies approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and standard anti-nausea medications often don’t work.”
In the absence of reliable treatments, doctors often rely on unconventional approaches. Hot showers, capsaicin cream rubbed onto the abdomen, and even Haldol — a medication usually reserved for psychotic episodes — are sometimes used to manage symptoms.
Buresh says one detail can give away the diagnosis immediately:
“That’s something that can clinch the diagnosis for me, when someone says they’re better with a hot shower. Patients describe going through all the hot water in their house.”
Even after symptoms fade, CHS almost always returns if cannabis use continues. The only true cure is to stop using cannabis entirely, though the addictive component can make that extremely difficult. As Carlini warns,
“Because the syndrome strikes intermittently, some cannabis users assume a recent episode was unrelated and continue using — only to become severely ill again.”
What remains unclear is why some people develop CHS while others never do. One leading theory suggests that heavy or prolonged cannabis use overstimulates the body’s endocannabinoid system, disrupting its ability to regulate nausea and vomiting. According to Buresh,
“It seems like there’s a threshold when people can become vulnerable to this condition, and that threshold is different for everyone. Even using in small amounts can make these people start throwing up.”
A recent study from George Washington University, which surveyed more than 1,000 CHS patients, found strong links between early cannabis use, long-term consumption, and ER visits for scromiting. One particularly concerning trend: adolescent CHS cases in the U.S. have risen more than tenfold from 2016 to 2023. The highest increases appeared in states where recreational cannabis is still illegal, though overall CHS is more common in states where cannabis is widely available.
On October 1, 2025, the World Health Organization officially recognized CHS with a dedicated diagnosis code — a move that Carlini calls essential for tracking the condition’s rise. She noted,
“A new code for cannabis hyperemesis syndrome will supply important hard evidence on cannabis-adverse events, which physicians tell us is a growing problem.”
As ER visits continue to climb, experts urge both adults and teens to be aware of the risks. CHS may sound unbelievable, even exaggerated, but for thousands of people — many of them long-time cannabis users — the consequences are painfully real.
