SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Marijuana has become a drug known for its potential health benefits. But as legalization is becoming more common across the country, doctors are noticing adverse health effects associated with frequent use.
Dr. Christine Stork, clinical toxicologist at Upstate New York Poison Center, says Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, or CHS, is a disorder known to cause recurrent vomiting in people who smoke marijuana frequently.
“Daily, more high-level users of marijuana can experience cyclical vomiting,” Dr. Stork said. “Like vomiting that doesn’t quite stop on its own, like maybe a stomach bug would.”
Other gastrointestinal symptoms associated with the disorder are nausea and abdominal pain.
Although Dr. Stork says the only sure way to get rid of the disorder is to stop smoking marijuana, she does note that people have found a trick to ease symptoms.
“Taking a hot shower,” Dr. Stork said. Some patients have also found relief using a topical arthritis cream called Capsaicin.
CHS can affect anyone who smokes marijuana habitually, but it may not affect everyone who does.
“There is some research looking at [how] there might be a predisposition to it,” Dr. Stork said. “So not every person who smokes a lot of marijuana will get this vomiting syndrome.”
Dr. Stork reports that one group that appears to be coming in with CHS more often is college students.
Medline Johns, a graduate student at Syracuse University, said she had heard of the disorder before. Johns was a former EMT at her school’s health and wellness center, where she says she’s seen students who have suffered from CHS, and it can be scary.
“It’s so normalized in society, especially amongst young people, that a lot of people tend to forget about the health effects,” Johns said.
A 2025 study found that emergency room visits related to CHS increased in the U.S. between 2016 and 2022. Researchers say the condition appears most often in young adults ages 18 to 35 and has become a more common reason people go to the emergency room for severe vomiting.
While people with the disorder can treat themselves at home, Dr. Stork says, if they can’t get enough fluids and nutrition, then they may need some medical attention.
Some college students, like Dylan Hoffman, think that the risks should be made clear to those who smoke marijuana.
“Dispensaries could start labeling or talk[ing] about the potential risks of marijuana,” Hoffman said. “But the history of the substance industry in the United States does not make me think that they will do so voluntarily.”
Hoffman suggested that, to combat CHS among college students, incorporating substance education policies would be a helpful option.
Dr. Stork emphasized that marijuana must be smoked in order to develop CHS.
“So if you’re using gummies or other edible marijuana products, you’re unlikely to have cyclical vomiting syndrome.”
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome
Trinity Corbett: What if a drug known for its medicinal uses is actually hurting more than it’s helping?
Dr. Christine Stork: Cannabinoid hyperemesis has really kind of come to the forefront over the past several years.
Corbett: Dr. Christine Stork, a clinical toxicologist at Upstate New York Poison Center says the disorder is common in high-level users that smoke marijuana daily.
Dr. Stork: What they’ll experience is kind of like a cyclical vomiting, like vomiting that doesn’t quite stop on its own, like maybe the stomach bug would.
Corbett: And it’s happening to college students too.
Madeline Johns: Because I worked on the college campus, I definitely saw a couple of people here and there who did have cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.
Corbett: But some users may not understand the potential risk.
Johns: It’s so normalized in society and it’s so like normalized, especially amongst young people that a lot of people tend to like forget about the health effects.
Corbett: Although some chronic marijuana users may never develop cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome some experts say that genetics can play a role in those who do. And that could potentially land them here.
Dr. Stork: I mean, there is some research looking at there might be a genetic predisposition to this. So not every person who smokes a lot of marijuana will get this vomiting.
Corbtt: Dr. Stork says the only way to get rid of the disorder is to stop smoking the drug. But relief may be closer than you think.
Dr. Stork: But another little tell is taking a hot shower.
Corbett: Even though the disorder isn’t considered deadly, some people think that marijuana smokers should be aware of the risks.
Dylan Hoffman: It would almost definitely have to be legislated much in the same way that like tobacco companies were like finally forced to like acknowledge the risks of nicotine.
Corbett: But treatment may not even require a hospital visit.
Dr. Stork: It’s okay to treat themselves at home if they’re getting enough nutrition, getting enough fluids. But if they find that they can’t eat and can’t drink, they do need some medical attention.
Corbett: Dr. Stork did say that a disorder is not generally associated with using edible marijuana products. So, in order to be affected by cannabinoid hyperemesis, the drug must be smoked. In Syracuse, Trinity Corbett, NCC News.