Cannabis Vomiting Disorder Overwhelms ERs

A mysterious cannabis-linked vomiting disorder that sends patients screaming into emergency rooms has just received official medical recognition.

Quick Take

  • The World Health Organization formally recognized cannabis hyperemesis syndrome in October 2025, assigning it the diagnostic code R11.16
  • Emergency room visits for CHS have surged 650% since 2016, with the highest rates among patients aged 18 to 35
  • Modern cannabis products exceed 20% THC compared to 5% in the 1990s, dramatically increasing risk for susceptible users
  • The condition causes severe, intractable vomiting that paradoxically improves with prolonged hot showers, leaving many patients undiagnosed for years
  • Formal recognition enables healthcare systems to track cases systematically and conduct rigorous epidemiological research for the first time

The Paradox That Stumped Medicine

Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome represents one of medicine’s strangest paradoxes: the drug commonly used to treat nausea and vomiting can trigger the opposite effect in chronic heavy users. For years, this counterintuitive mechanism baffled both patients and physicians, leading to misdiagnosis as food poisoning, gastroenteritis, or psychiatric conditions. The lack of formal recognition meant cases were scattered across medical records under various diagnostic codes, making epidemiological tracking impossible and leaving patients confused about why their preferred medication had become their tormentor.

The World Health Organization’s decision to assign cannabis hyperemesis syndrome the dedicated ICD-10 code R11.16 in October 2025 represents the first time the condition received official global health recognition with standardized diagnostic infrastructure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention immediately adopted the code into U.S. diagnostic systems, fundamentally changing how emergency departments and healthcare providers document and track this mysterious illness.

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When Hot Showers Replace Medicine

Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome announces itself through a distinctive symptom called “scromiting”—screaming and vomiting simultaneously—that defies conventional medical logic. Patients experience severe, intractable nausea and vomiting that can persist for hours or days, accompanied by abdominal pain, dehydration, and weight loss. In rare cases, the condition progresses to kidney failure, seizures, heart rhythm abnormalities, and death. Yet the most counterintuitive aspect remains the symptom relief mechanism: prolonged hot showers or baths provide temporary respite from the vomiting, a phenomenon that remains incompletely understood by researchers. Don’t wait too long after these symptoms – see a doctor now through My Healthy Doc.

The Potency Explosion Nobody Expected

The surge in CHS cases correlates directly with the dramatic shift in cannabis product potency over recent decades. Cannabis products from the 1990s typically contained approximately 5% THC, whereas contemporary recreational products frequently exceed 20% THC. Concentrated cannabis products have reached even more extreme potency levels, with some products exceeding 90% THC. This exponential increase in potency fundamentally altered the risk profile for chronic users, particularly younger demographics with less developed neurological systems and higher consumption rates. The WHO code represents “a significant step in the right direction” for establishing clinical legitimacy and enabling systematic tracking of the condition’s prevalence.

The Resistance That Complicates Treatment

Despite formal recognition and documented health consequences, many chronic cannabis users resist CHS diagnosis and find cannabis cessation extraordinarily difficult due to addiction. This psychological and physiological resistance creates a clinical challenge: even when patients receive accurate diagnosis, they often continue cannabis consumption despite clear evidence that cessation represents the only reliable cure. The addiction dimension of cannabis use disorder complicates treatment outcomes and suggests that awareness and diagnosis alone may have limited behavioral impact on consumption patterns. Not sure where to start? Ask our AI doctor about your symptoms.

What Comes Next

Healthcare systems are implementing the new diagnostic code into electronic health record systems and billing processes, enabling direct CHS diagnosis rather than the previous practice of using combination codes for nausea plus cannabis use indicators. This transition is expected to dramatically improve data quality and consistency across healthcare institutions, enabling researchers to identify trends and risk factors with unprecedented precision. The formal recognition may also influence cannabis policy discussions, particularly regarding product potency regulation and age restrictions.

Sources:

Mysterious marijuana-linked vomiting disorder gets official WHO code as ER cases jump – Fox News
ICD-10 Code for Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome – University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute
Researchers Highlight New Diagnosis Tied to Chronic Cannabis Use – Science Daily
Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome Research – National Center for Biotechnology Information

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