New York doctors report an epidemic of ‘scromiting’ – a reaction to cannabis that causes symptoms so severe that people end up in the hospital

US clinicians have seen an increase in the number of chronic cannabis users suffering from a potentially devastating vomiting condition.

“Scromiting,” which gets its name from patients who both “scream and vomit” while seeking medical attention in pain, is becoming an all-too-familiar sight in emergency rooms, doctors say.

Medically known as Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS), the condition is not fully understood by doctors but can also cause seizures and kidney failure and can even be fatal.

Experts believe that the symptoms appear after people have used or consumed large amounts of marijuana for a long period of time, about ten years.

One doctor said clinicians now call CHS a “bread-and-butter” diagnosis because it has become so common. Another said they see it “every week, if not every day.”

Proponents of marijuana often claim that it is a safe drug because it is “natural.”

However, scientists have previously suggested that the active ingredient in cannabis, THC, triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response, increasing heart rate and blood pressure.

The New York Times Research has found that doctors are seeing ‘more and more’ cases of CHS and doctors say it is now a ‘common’ problem.

Symptoms of CHS include repeated vomiting and severe abdominal pain.

An Ohio doctor said “those patients look so sick” and described them as “writhing in pain.”

A telltale aspect of the condition that is still not understood is how warm water often relieves symptoms.

But ironically, this in itself can cause injury, as patients spend hours in scalding hot baths or showers trying to soothe their symptoms, sometimes to the point of burning themselves.

A similar effect has been observed when using special capsaicin, a substance found in chili peppers, which is turned into spicy, medicinal creams.

How long CHS lasts or takes to develop, and why it affects some people and not others, is still being researched, but early signs can last for years.

This later progresses to a point where people experience the scromiting phase which can last for days before fading. However, it can return.

The only known way to prevent CHS from recurring is for users to stop using cannabis products.

Experts aren’t sure what causes the development of CHS, but the condition is often noticed in adults who have used marijuana since their teenage years.

Current theories as to why the condition occurs in the first place include that prolonged exposure to the drug overstimulates some body receptors, which in turn destabilizes the gag reflex.

The increasing potency of cannabis products has also been cited by some doctors as a possible factor as to why the number of cases appears to be increasing.

However, clinicians do not know exactly how many CHS patients there are, but the number of cases has been observed to increase in states where cannabis has been legalized.

The situation is also complicated by the fact that some patients do not disclose their drug use when seeking help.

But at least eight people are known to have died in the US from complications of CHS since it was first diagnosed in 2004.

In June, a chronic marijuana user died after the condition caused a fatal heart arrhythmia.

The 22-year-old woman, who was treated in Canada, started using cannabis at the age of 14 and had suffered from multiple bouts of severe CHS for three years.

When she was admitted to the hospital with vomiting and abdominal pain, she developed a specific life-threatening irregular heartbeat called torsades de pointes, which caused her heart to stop.

While doctors were able to restart her heart, her brain had already suffered a catastrophic loss of oxygen and she was declared brain dead four days later.

Researchers estimate that as many as one-third of heavy marijuana users may experience symptoms of the condition – approximately 6 million Americans.

One woman, from Elgin, Illinois, turned to the drug in 2019, when she was in her 40s, when a doctor suggested it could help her severe migraines.

So when Jennifer Macaluso felt a headache coming on, she would take a hit from a marijuana vape pen or consume an edible version of the drug.

But after a few months, she told the New York Times that she started having stomach aches.

After being advised by a pharmacy worker to increase her intake, she ended up taking the drug almost every day, she claims.

Within months, episodes of nausea and vomiting followed, which were so debilitating that she had to stop working.

Cannabis use has seen a rapid increase over the past decade, culminating in legal recreational use in 24 states.

Meanwhile, in Britain, laws surrounding the medicinal use of cannabis were relaxed six years ago.

This allowed specialist doctors to prescribe drugs based on the drug to some patients with epilepsy, or treat vomiting associated with the treatment of cancer and symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

THC stimulates brain areas involved in mood, attention and memory, while triggering the release of the hormone dopamine, which is responsible for feelings of reward and pleasure.

Small, infrequent doses have little long-term impact, according to studies.

But with long-term, regular use, signals in these important brain areas can go wrong.

Studies have shown that frequent cannabis use can increase the risk of serious mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, as well as insomnia, social anxiety disorders and suicidal thoughts.

A 2019 study from researchers at Kings College London also found that daily use of high-potency cannabis can increase the risk of psychosis among users fivefold.

The latest figures show that cannabis remains the most popular drug among 16 to 59 year olds in England and Wales.

Last year, use was highest among 20 to 24-year-olds; almost one in six people in this group used it, official figures show.

Last year, 32 deaths in England and Wales and around 300 in the US were linked to cannabis.