“When medical marijuana was decriminalized, we started seeing cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome,” said Matthew Mostofi, DO, associate chief of emergency medicine at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
The syndrome is characterized by recurrent episodes of severe nausea, intractable vomiting and abdominal pain, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. These symptoms typically return unless patients stop marijuana use. “We’ve seen it at least weekly the last couple of years,” Dr. Mostofi said.
Mark Neavyn, MD, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center, said the center’s emergency department has seen approximately five to 10 cases in the last one or two years. If recreational marijuana use becomes more common, that could change, Dr. Neavyn said. “If we saw a lot more cases, it would burden emergency departments.”
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