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Baron23

Well-Known Member
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2017/05/19/doctors-use-peppers-to-treat-marijuana-related-illnesses/


ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Emergency room doctors at a local hospital are using a rather unique method to treat a common marijuana related illness.

This illness, known as Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, causes severe stomach pain and cyclical vomiting in people who smoke a lot of pot, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, leading many of them to go to the ER.

“One of the newer treatments that we’ve been trying is capsaicin cream, which is made from peppers, and you kind of just rub it on the patient’s chest or stomach, and it seems to improve their symptoms dramatically or pretty quickly,’ says Dr. Evan Schwartz, an ER doctor at Barnes Jewish and Chief of Medical Toxicology at Wash U School of Medicine.

“It’s a very cheap medication, it seems to be effective for most of these patients, and our standard medications that we give to these patients don’t seem to work,” he says.

Capsaicin cream is already sold over the counter to treat arthritis pain.

“We’re not entirely sure why it works. One of the features of this syndrome, Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, is the patients get better with hot showers, so we’re not sure if the heat from the capsaicin simulates the same effect,” he says.

Schwartz says one of the reasons they’re seeing more cases of this illness is because the potency of pot is much higher than it was 20 years ago. He says his ER now sees a few of these cases every week.
 
WHAT IS CANNABINOID HYPEREMESIS SYNDROME?
By Sirius J December 22, 2014

Often mistakenly called Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome, Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is a rare form of cannabinoid toxicity that develops in chronic smokers. It’s characterized by cyclic episodes of debilitating nausea and vomiting. People who suffer from the syndrome often find that hot showers relieve their symptoms, and will compulsively bathe during episodes of nausea and vomiting. Symptoms stop after cessation of cannabis use.

Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome is different from Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome—though the symptoms are very similar. Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome is not caused by cannabis consumption.

This may sound scary, but it’s very rare. I’ve known many heavy smokers all my life and have only recently heard of it through research online. People are blaming the recent and increasing popularity of dabs for Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS), but CHS has been around since way before concentrates were popular. An Australian clinical study from 2004 looked into the syndrome in a group of 10 patients suffering from CHS, and all were marijuana smokers, not dabbers.

CHS develops in heavy, longtime consumers of cannabis; there is generally daily use in excess of three to five times a day for many years before the appearance of symptoms. A clinical study from Philadelphia, PA states that the average duration of cannabis use before the onset of symptoms was around 16 years, and the earliest symptoms had developed in a patient was after around three years of smoking weed.

People who suffer from CHS often find that hot showers alleviate their symptoms, and this provides another clue for the cause of the syndrome. According to the study from Philadelphia, “hot bathing may act by correcting the cannabis induced disequilibrium of the thermoregulatory system of the hypothalamus.”

While cannabis is revered for its nausea-calming (antiemetic) properties, it’s paradoxical that it causes severe nausea and vomiting in certain people. Due to its widely known antiemetic properties, people who develop CHS will often increase the amount of cannabis they consume in hopes that it will cure the nausea, but it never helps. It goes to show how little we know about not only about the body, but also about the interaction between cannabis and cannabinoid receptors.

CHS is a very rare syndrome and is easily cured by stopping the consumption of cannabis. This should not, by any means, hurt marijuana’s reputation for being the safest recreational drug around, but people need to be aware of the syndrome’s existence. If you know anyone with these symptoms tell him or her go to a doctor and stop smoking.
 
A bit more of the above with some other links that help explain what CHS is.

WHEN POT BECOMES TOXIC - CANNABINOID HYPEREMESIS SYNDROME


Could Cannabis be part of the problem?



"Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is a rare form of cannabinoid toxicity that develops in chronic smokers."



What is cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS)?


CHS is a nebulous condition where cannabis becomes toxic. If you smoke a lot of pot and you have classic symptoms; recurrent nausea, vomiting and crampy abdominal pain you might have CHS . Symptoms may improve temporarily by taking a hot shower or bath. or more fully by stopping the use of cannabis.



What causes cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome?


Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is generally thought to be caused by heavy, habitual use of cannabis. High THC strains are most often implicated in this disorder. Foreign organic and chemical toxins in marijuana can also be confused with the THC and / or cannabinoid intolerance.



"In this condition, the acute (illness) phase of CHS typically lasts for only 24 to 48 hours, but the risk of relapse is high if the patient returns to cannabis use." - Jonathan A. Galli, MD et.al."



What is cyclic vomiting syndrome?


Cyclic vomiting syndrome, or CVS, is a disorder with sudden, repeated episodes of severe nausea, vomiting, followed by physical exhaustion. CVS is sometimes confused with cannabinoid hyperemesis because the symptoms are so similar. CVS is thought to be caused by a multitude of subtle yet to be fully identified operators.



Chemicals in the diet, vaccines, acquired allergic response, and gastrointestinal disease all may play a role to varying degrees. CVS episodes can seem to occur at random and can last from a few hours to several days. If total abstinence from marijuana does not halt symptoms, then the patient does not have THS.



“I really wasn’t able to function much at all. I was constantly having to lie down with a constant pain.”.








HOW TO DO A SELF DIAGNOSIS

If you smoke a fair amount of weed and often suffer from the symptoms, nausea, vomiting and gastrointestinal issues, then you should find out if your pot is causing the problem. Keep a diary. Write down what you eat, drink, exercise, emotional events, sleep. Abstain from marijuana use for a month. Record on a daily basis how you feel, rank your symptoms on a scale of one to five.



"A greater understanding of the natural course of the syndrome and response to marijuana cessation may be gained with longer lengths of follow-up. Future studies following patients longitudinally for extended periods of time are needed." - Jonathan A. Galli, MD, et.al.



After each week, take a look at your activities and note any cause and effect, like I was angry at work, ate a chocolate cake by myself, didn't sleep well and was nauseous the next day. At the end of a full month's abstinence, review your symptom scores and see if they went down without smoking pot. Also consider if the month was a normal month, without unusual activity or stress, that could throw your self diagnosis conclusions off.








DISSECTING THE ISSUES

If you are don't better without taking marijuana, then obviously you want to look dumping this form of medication for now at least. If you enjoy your weed medically or recreationally, but still suspect that some of your symptoms are related to your pot use, then consider the following;

Medically, we think everyone should avoid smoking or taking a lot of THC without a break.

You may have become THC intolerant. Too much THC for too long. This can happen when you take too much of anything, coffee, alcohol, drugs and herbs. There are two solutions, abstinence or taking a holiday and resuming consumption in lesser amounts. After taking a holiday (perhaps a month) and still wish to reap the benefits of medical marijuana, try strains much lower in THC, but higher in CBD, THCV, cannabinol or extracts with CBC or CBG. Start with a small dose and if the effects are positive, work up until the effects are optimal.



Something like 4 weeks on and at least a week off might be a somewhat "painless" routine for the average user. If your weed is moldy, this could be the cause of all of your problems. See our section on moldy weed to learn about this issue. WHY SMOKING MOLDY WEED IS BAD, BAD NEWS. By the way, this little moldy pot article went viral with thousands of hits per month.

If there are pesticides in your pot, that can cause horrendous problems which include nausea, gastrointestinal issues and vomiting. See our section on Lab tested weed to learn all about pesticides, herbicides. LAB TESTED MEDICAL MARIJUANA - A USER'S GUIDE

There are other alternative choices of medication too, that you can try, non-psychoactive raw cannabis, creams, tinctures and oils. Again, we recommend lower THC and an abundance of CBD and other cannabinoids and terpenes for the healthiest and even best recreational experience.



“It was starting to take a toll on me after a few months. I was doing all these tests and not knowing what was wrong with me or who to turn to.” - Patient




Make Sure you Choose Good Pot



420 EvaluationsOnline: Patients that suspect they have Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome might benefit from high CBD or strains balanced in CBD and THC. Certainly, anyone who is ill should never take anything that could have toxic chemicals or poisonous microorganisms and their metabolites in it. In California and Nevada, patients can get medical cannabis recommendations online same day.

This online Telehealth process complies with the recommendations and guidelines of the California Board of Medicine. Online 420 recommendations, grower permits, and Cannabis ID are valid to purchase medical cannabis at licensed delivery services, dispensaries, cannabis clubs, marijuana cooperatives, cannabis clinics and online stores in California and Nevada.

By getting your medical cannabis documents here, you're helping support our ongoing quest to provide the best in medical marijuana information and news.


FURTHER READING

WHAT IS CANNABINOID HYPEREMESIS SYNDROME? Hightimes

"I’ve known many heavy cannabis smokers all my life and have only recently heard of it......"

Though the symptoms are very similar, Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome differs from Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome,. Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome is not caused by cannabis consumption.

Often mistakenly called Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome, Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is a rare form of cannabinoid toxicity that develops in chronic smokers. It’s characterized by cyclic episodes of debilitating nausea and vomiting. People who suffer from the syndrome often find that hot showers relieve their symptoms, and will compulsively bathe during episodes of nausea and vomiting. Symptoms stop after cessation of cannabis use.



What is Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome? Leafly

I used cannabis for nausea without realizing it might actually have been the cause of it. Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (also known as cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS) is a recently discovered, poorly understood condition theoretically caused by heavy, long-term cannabis use. Its acute “hyperemetic” phase is characterized by vomiting, nausea, severe gastrointestinal discomfort, and compulsive bathing, although it may be preceded by a period of milder symptoms like morning nausea, consistent urges to vomit, and abdominal pain......



Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Jonathan A. Galli, MD, Ronald Andari Sawaya, MD, and Frank K. Friedenberg, MD

Coinciding with the increasing rates of cannabis abuse has been the recognition of a new clinical condition known as Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is characterized by chronic cannabis use, cyclic episodes of nausea and vomiting, and frequent hot bathing. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome occurs by an unknown mechanism. Despite the well-established anti-emetic properties of marijuana, there is increasing evidence of its paradoxical effects on the gastrointestinal tract and CNS. Tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, and cannabigerol are three cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant with opposing effects on the emesis response.....



Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome - Wiki

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is characterized by recurrent nausea, vomiting and crampy abdominal pain These symptoms have been reported to be improved temporarily by taking a hot shower or bath or more fully by stopping the use of cannabis. The syndrome was described by Allen and colleagues (2004), and Sontineni and colleagues (2009) who offer simplified clinical diagnostic criteria. A subsequent, larger study reported a case series of 98 subjects with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, confirming the earlier reported findings......



Pot pains: Why cannabiscan become toxic for some

Some long-term “pot heads” are finding the drug they once loved can suddenly turn on them and become almost toxic. These users are developing a little-understood condition called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome that brings on unrelenting vomiting, nausea and stomach pain.

Standard medications do not relieve it, smoking more marijuana only seems to worsen it, and some doctors say they are seeing a lot more cases of it.

It was intense stomach pains that brought Dave to his doctors four months ago. The 45-year-old from southern Ontario (who’d prefer not to use his full name) knew he needed help when intense cramping left him balled up on the sofa, unable to work. Even after Dave’s doctor ordered reams of ultrasounds, CT scans, and colonoscopies, no one could find anything wrong with him, leaving Dave frustrated.........
 
Much of this information is old news and some is opinion. But I wanted to post the article in it's entirety here. Of special importance/interest is Part 5 where a potential cause of CHS is explained. I was pretty surprised... and a bit dismayed since my caregiver uses this practice (on occasion) and considers it 'organic gardening.' You may want to skip right to that section if you have ever suffered any of the symptoms of CHS... and if you use untested flower as your medicine.

PART ONE: What is CHS (Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome) and its origin?

In part 1 we will look at, the origin of CHS and what the medical system, supported by the government, has to say as it defines this “new” clinical condition.

The first documented cases of CHS (Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome) was discovered, in 2004, in South Australia by; J. H. Allen, G. M. de Moore, R. Heddle, & J. C. Twartz.

They studied nine patients and concluded the following, in the creation of CHS.

Definition of CHS (Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome

Those who “discovered” CHS say that it is psychogenic (having a psychological origin or cause rather than a physical one) cyclical vomiting. Persistent vomiting, severe nausea and abdominal pain, that can cause hospitalization.

Chronic cannabis abuse is what is the “alleged” cause of of CHS has been discovered to be.

The nine patients heavily used cannabis for months and years, prior to getting CHS.

They all had normal appetite, yet, lost weight, due to persistent vomiting, from CHS.

An interesting thing they all had in common was in frequently taking hot showers or baths. This was a learned behavior that would ease the pain, within minutes, of taking a hot shower.

What ended up causing the hospitalization was in running out of hot water, in which to achieve relieve. As the water cooled, the pain would return. Dehydration, was another reason for hospitalization, due to hot showers and fluid loss due to persistent vomiting.

Two of the patients reported to have scalded themselves in attempting to get the water as hot as possible.

Other symptoms included sweating and abnormal thirst.

Nausea could get triggered by the sight or smell of food and the fear of vomiting.

As the doctors began the initial phases of trying to figure out what is the cause of the following symptoms, they initially concluded that it was consistent with typical toxicity cases.

Naturally, the one “easy” thing for the doctors to conclude was that CHS was the results of toxicity from cannabis.

We, the cannabis community, know this is ridiculous because it is essentially impossible to overdose on cannabis, let alone have a toxic effect from it.

What the true cause of CHS could be, as what we will be discussing later on in the article series, involves another form of toxicity.

I believe these doctors are, essentially, right about this issue being a toxicity poisoning. However. What I disagree with, is the substance “they” claim caused the toxicity.

The other part of their initial diagnosis involved them considering if these patients were suffering from cannabis withdrawal.

So far we have uncovered two ridiculous concepts, in relation to cannabis.

These two ridiculous concepts are; cannabis toxicity & cannabis withdrawal.

There is essentially a 0% possibility of receiving toxicity from cannabis and also, a 0% chance of “suffering” from withdrawal symptoms, as described from this study.

Like with anything, even substances such as caffeine, quitting cold turkey can’t necessarily come about with zero consequences.

The withdrawal symptoms one could encounter with quitting cannabis cold turkey are mostly psychological. You can quit cannabis, cold turkey, without worrying about it killing you.

Unlike quitting cold turkey with alcohol or even heroin or prescription drug. These drugs actually present a very real danger in quitting cold turkey.

With cannabis, this is one of the most safe substances to quit cold turkey. In my personal experience, of quitting several substances over my life, I was able to quit tobacco with ease. I also quit drinking alcohol for one year, with ease. Then I tried to quit coffee and HOLY MOLY! Trying to quit caffeine was by far the most painful experience, of any substance I’ve been addicted to and tried to quit. I decided not to quit coffee.

I was also able to quite consuming cannabis with ease. As much as I enjoy cannabis, I personally haven’t consumed cannabis since the beginning of May 2016.

The cannabis withdrawal symptoms they do cite are the following. Nausea, vomiting, insomnia, irritability, and anxiety.

I can’t speak for everyone. However. In my personal experience, of quitting cannabis, the only thing I struggled with, after daily chronic consumption for several years, was getting my appetite back. I didn’t lose weight, I was still able to eat. But. My desire to eat, just wasn’t there.

Continuing the story of these patients journey into the discovery of CHS.

As the CHS symptoms increased, so did their cannabis consumption.

We all know that cannabis has the ability to relieve nausea, and yet, for some reason, we will discuss later in the series, the cannabis wasn’t bringing them the relief they were “predictably” seeking to find through increasing their cannabis dosage.

A logical question should come up at this moment.

If it is well known that cannabis has anti nausea properties to it, why didn’t the researchers conclude the toxicity might have come from a different source?

How do they know cannabis was the reason for toxicity poisoning?

Since they didn’t ask these question, I will be asking these questions and investigating, in depth, and reporting the conclusions that I discover.

It is very important to ask the proper questions and receive answers from appropriate sources.

If you don’t ask the question, you can’t receive the answer. And for these researchers to think that cannabis, in itself, was the reason and the sources of toxicity is to completely miss the mark and essentially show your lack of education and basic understanding of how cannabis works.

Moving on.

As these patients were taken off of cannabis, they were given Benzodiazepines to relieve them of cannabis withdrawal symptoms and to relieve psychological craving.

Interesting as to why they would be given benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines killed just a little under 10,000 people in 2015, as reported by the link below.

https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates

Also. The withdrawal symptoms from benzodiazepines, compared to the withdrawal symptoms from cannabis, are INSANELY worse.

I won’t list all of the potential withdrawal symptoms from benzodiazepines, you can click on the link below to look at all the symptoms. I will, however, list a few of the INSANE withdrawal symptoms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome#Signs_and_symptoms

As I’m looking at this list, I have a hard time picking out a few of them to list. There are so many and a LOT of them are so severe, it’s insane that these pills are actually considered to be medicine, let alone legal!

Here we go. Here’s a list of a few of the withdrawal symptoms from benzodiazepines.

Suicide, violence, Urges to shout, throw, break things or harm someone, PTSD, homicidal ideation, coma, hallucination, death, restless leg syndrome, electric shock sensations, hearing impairment, metallic taste, etc.

Mind you. This is a VERY short list of the withdrawal symptoms from benzodiazepines.

Much more to explore in this article series.

As we continue to progress through the information, it’s interesting to note, the only way the researchers were able to recreate the effect, was not through the chronic smoking of cannabis. But. Through “insane” methods we will we talk about throughout this article series.

They also wonder why CHS takes years to develop and weeks to return after cannabis consumption has been halted and then resumed.

There is much to explore as we go deep into all of the information.

Let’s move onto What Is Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome? Heal The Mind With Information To Cure The Body Of Dis-Ease. (Part 2).

In part 2 we will discuss the importance of, who you should listen to, as you are processing new information.
 
PART TWO: Who do we listen to in the age of information overload?

My personal belief is that the truth is simple. It’s easy to find, easy to understand and easy to communicate it. The truth about the truth is the truth, is NOT the truth, if the truth begins to get complicated and start to form many many layers that cause confusion.

Once the information becomes CRAZY and is in need of SUPER high levels of authority to “decode” the truth, then I believe this is where the truth starts to “twist” into a lie.

What I will do in this series is present the information in a simple and elegant format.

I will put all the information on the table to see.

Once all the information is in front of you, it is my belief that the truth is obvious.

Let’s begin!

When it comes to decoding the truth, the very first, MOST important BASIC step to consciously consider CONSTANTLY is, who do you listen to?

Who do we listen to when we have explicit knowledge of the federal declaration of the war on cannabis?

Who do you listen to and why can’t we trust official government medical authority?

The answers will become obvious as we dig deep into the actual research of what “they” are saying and how they arrived at their conclusions.

To start, we know we can’t listen to doctors because they will lose their license if they recommend “safe” options (cannabis) that hasn’t taken a life.

If they recommend cannabis, and get caught, they will lose EVERYTHING they have build up in their lives. Why they don’t, and won’t, recommend cannabis, is because themselves and their families might not survive if they do.

Why might they not be able to survive if they give us accurate TRUE information about cannabis?

Simply because they will lose their medical license and they could potentially go to jail. Their ability to accumulate money, through practicing medicine, will be taken away. If they went to jail, they wouldn’t be able to make money at all, thus, lose the ability to provide and protect their families. They will selfishly protect themselves, and their livelihood, at the expense of your life and your livelihood.

Basic truth.

While I don’t technically blame doctors for doing what they do “officially”, we do have to blame someone, or something, for the reason why doctors are not able to tell the truth. The doctors are simply doing their job, in a way that will protect themselves, and their families.

I can’t hold someone, in that position, responsible. They are making a decision, similar to what anyone of us would do if we were to be put in that same situation. We are surviving in a system that doesn’t want us to survive, using methods that ACTUALLY work.

Who is responsible are those who are controlling the doctors. All the way up to the tip top of the capstone of the pyramid.

I have had personal experiences where a doctor would tell me, verbally, that cannabis was great. If it works then keep doing it! And then, the “weird” part happened. I grab a copy of the medical records, from our session, and the paperwork explicitly says that STOP using cannabis. In my mind, if you’re going to verbally tell me to use cannabis, and then on paper tell me not to, you should very well have just DELETED the whole cannabis “bit” from your report.

Next, can we listen to writers in the cannabis community?

And the answer is maybe. However. The question then becomes, who do you listen to when the “average” writer, in the cannabis space, does surface level research and regurgitates misinformation?

We know we can’t listen to the marketing language of the average everyday cannabis writer. I bite my tongue when it comes to calling out specific cannabis companies, who have already written up reports about CHS.

However. The truth is, if you want to know the truth, you have to look at all the information, side by side and decide for yourself. Once you put all the information, side by side, it has always been my personal experience, that the answer becomes obvious. Which is what we will be doing in our series.

What I found, a good handful of cannabis companies were doing, was taking “surface” level information and regurgitate it. They would pull a, monkey see, monkey do, thus causing a spread of the mind virus.

I don’t know whether to call it lazy investigative reporting, or, label it as unaware of how to process technical information appropriately?

If you don’t know that you need to know, who you should be listening to, it easy to do a quick Google search, click on the first search result that had a strong BUZZ word, read it, believe it, report it and do no further research.

It’s a shame we can’t listen to some of these “authoritative” stoner companies because of the mind frame they take when approaching this information. When it comes to telling the truth and figuring out how to process it appropriately, the first step is always to carefully considering who you listen to and what the information is ACTUALLY saying.

What these specific, well known, cannabis companies did was pretty much copy and paste the introductory “Abstract” of the government medical article about CHS, and they didn’t look any further into what the “technical” doctor jargon is really saying and the methods the doctors used in obtaining their justified information.

More on why we can’t listen to doctors doing research on cannabinoids and the cannabis industry in general.

Since doctors are legally bound from saying anything positive about cannabis, it should be pretty obvious that we should probably never listen to what “official” doctor doctrine has to say about our precious plant.

Why specifically can’t we listen to doctors publishing articles in government journals?

We can’t listen to doctors, specifically, because of the methods they are using to extract this information.

What I’m about to reveal to you, in my opinion, is scary.

It’s scary just how “easily” both doctors and the masses are easily DUPED into being controlled through “magical” information.

I specifically say magic because “words” and the use of language are precisely how they control, the mind, and the very reality we experience.

If perception is reality, all they have to do is control your perception and you experience reality the way they have “programmed” you to experience reality.

Words, quite literally, form world’s within the mind.

We didn’t even know about CHS (Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome) until “they” created a word and formulated a “fantasy” reality around it.

Not to say the symptoms the patients are experiencing aren’t very real, however, what the government is saying CHS is and what it actually is, could be are two VERY different things to consider.

And as we look at what the government says versus what experienced cannabis industry professionals, and cannabis growers, have to say, it almost becomes quite obvious what the truth is.

Let’s move onto Part 3 as we continue to uncover the truth about the truth.
 
PART THREE: How do government doctors get their information?

In part 2 we discussed why we can’t listen to “authorities” who have declared a federal war on cannabis. We also discussed why we can’t listen to the average writer in the cannabis space.

In part 3 we will go deep into how doctors get their information about CHS.

How did the government doctor “researchers” get their information? What method did they use to do their research? Did these doctors have a controlled study where they had a lot of people smoke, and consume cannabis, for long periods of time, in order to attempt to “create” a laboratory version of CHS?

Also, does all research get published?

These initial questions are startling when you take a few moments to think about what the implications could be.

Before we answer these questions, we have to set the framework, to properly understand the information to come.

What I’m about to say, won’t be 100℅ true, however, this statement will be closer to the truth than it is to a lie.

The entire medical industry has absolutely NO idea how any and all of the their medications actually work. Yes. They know that certain medications have certain predictable applications. However. The specific physiological process is widely unknown, specifically.

Whether or not this is 100% true, we know this is closer to the truth than it is a lie. Prescription drugs kill about 200,000 people per year. Tobacco kills about half a million per year. Alcohol kills about 88,000 per year. And. We all know the famous statistic about how many people cannabis has killed, via consumption. A big fat consistent ZERO!

If the legal system and the medical system was concerned about using accurate information to keep people alive, we could feel a lot more comfortable with listening to them. Because, if they better knew how their medications worked, would we have as many deaths by these legal drugs? Would these legal drugs have as many side effects? Would legal drugs be more effective?

Since the medical industry is a business and their goal is to increase profits, year after year, it wouldn’t make sense to “cure” a patient. To cure a patient mean they have lost a customer. The very point about owning a business is to get a customer through your doors and to keep them coming back.

I just listened to a TED MED talk by Ben Goldacre, called, What Doctors Don’t Know About The Drugs They Prescribe.

What he said in this talk is both scary and hypocritical, when it comes to cannabis.

To paraphrase, he says that medical journals will only publish the “freak of nature” success articles. The way they conduct clinical trials involves testing hundreds and thousands of patients, and, once they’ve concluded their research, they will only allow the publication of the instances where they have found favorable results.

Ben Goldacre gives an example of cancer research and how to treat it. They looked at 53 cases and they were only able to replicate 6 of these “effective” studies. This means that 47 out of those 53 “clinical” research studies were unreplicable. Out of 53 studies and publications, they could only verify 11℅ of the “alleged” effectiveness of the medications they were creating. Saying it in another way, they failed 89℅ of the time. 89℅ of their “good” research couldn’t be verified as true and working.

The scary part is when their research gets duplicated, to verify validity, and the results say the drug, in fact, doesn’t work. The medical journal will not publish those finding.

The TRULY scare part about the true nature of the medical industry is how they “allow” medical cannabis research to be conducted.

Why cannabis is still federally illegal is because they say there isn’t enough research to say it’s safe enough to legalize it.

The mind loop, that keeps cannabis stringently controlled is, we can’t do the research because it is illegal. We can’t legalize it because we don’t have enough research. We can’t research it because it’s not legal. Etc.

One VERY powerful control method I’ve discovered, in my research, is how the government control grid uses “loops” to keep their control, absolute, and looping back to them.

If we can’t legally research cannabis, how can we provide the evidence of safety and effectiveness?

To top it off, the only research the government will fund is to research the negative aspects of cannabis. And if the research begins to show positive results, the government immediately shuts down the research and discredits the information.

Let’s begin to ask the questions about how all of this relates to CHS (Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome).

This specific research, we will be looking into, says that CHS occurred from the massive uprise of cannabis consumption and abuse.

Pause for a moment and critically think about that logic.

Throughout all of known history, no one single case of this “magical” new clinical condition, known as CHS, was ever recorded. Did humanity sudden start consuming more cannabis than all of the people through all known history? Have they ever came across CHS symptoms, or anything like this before recent times?

The answer is no.

No symptoms that even come close to matching this new clinical condition were in existence before 2004.

Seemingly out of nowhere, patient zero popped up in 2004, with these symptoms, they go on to call CHS (Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome).

The question.

If CHS originated from CHRONIC cannabis consumption, does the logic not suggest that this “disease” would have emerged into existence LONG before 2004? What made 2004 a magical year for cannabis related disease?

In my opinion, the answer to this question, is where it could get very scary.

Since the government wants to “weed” cannabis out of existence, the logic would make sense that they will be utilizing stealth war tactics and strategies to attack cannabis from every possible conceivable angle, a master mind “think tank”, could brew up.

As we move into global legalization, we need to be very conscious about the information that will begin to make its way into the forefront of our minds. And ALWAYS consider, who you should listen to when processing new information.
 
PART FOUR: How did the government get their information for CHS?

In part 4 we will go deep into the technical research papers that gives these doctors the “power” to assert their authority.

How did the government doctor “researchers” get their information, to say with authority, that CHS (Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome) occurs because of abusing cannabis?

The question presupposes that CHS emerged into existence because of consuming too much cannabis, which is what “they” say is the root cause of CHS.

Consuming too much cannabis? Really?

What questions, then come up, are, how “specifically” is cannabis being consumed to cause CHS? What methods are the researchers using to determine that CHS is a new clinical condition? And how does this relate to how cannabis consumers are experiencing the symptoms of CHS?

Are the researchers using the same methods, of cannabis consumption, to confirm the cause of CHS, the same way the patients are consuming cannabis?

And the answer is no. The patients are reported to smoke cannabis daily. And the researcher are using a completely different method to “verify” CHS.

In their research article, published on a government health website, they start off by explicitly saying CHS is caused by chronic cannabis use.

Here’s the quote that starts off their research paper, published in NIH (National Institute Of Health).

“Coinciding with the increasing rates of cannabis abuse has been the recognition of a new clinical condition known as Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is characterized by chronic cannabis use…”

The very next sentence then goes onto to admit they have NO idea how it is caused.

“Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome occurs by an unknown mechanism.“

As we explored in part 3, I think we can safely say that the medical industry has NO idea how any number of modern diseases occurs.

Interesting how they do state, in the research paper, that cannabis has “well-established anti-emetic (preventing vomiting) properties”, yet, they claim to have discovered a “paradoxical effects on the gastrointestinal tract (The GI tract is the pathway food takes from the mouth, through the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine within where the nutrients are extracted for the needs of the body. The residue then passes to the rectum where it is evacuated) and CNS.”

So far they say that cannabis is causing a problem and “ironically” is able to solve a problem?

Paradox? Interesting how they also admit that this is a paradox. However. Once you have a theory, you have to use all means to find the evidence to support the theory. Right? Is this good science?

What we now need to do is to sort through this confusing information.

We will discover the truth, about their BOLD claims, by looking at their methods of gathering this data.

How did government researchers gather their information?

As we continue to read, all the way through this article, they got their information from an incredibly bizarre method of cannabis use.

They literally got their information, confirming CHS, by injecting mice (intravenously), with a needle, with isolated cannabinoid molecules.

Is this the “normal” type of cannabis abuse that is the “core” of CHS?

I can’t make this up. It explicitly says this in the research. They detail exactly how much, specific cannabinoid molecules, they need to inject in the mice to trigger CHS symptoms.

My next question is, how many cannabis consumers do you know who “inject” marijuana into their bodies with a needle?

If you’re like me, you will most likely say you know exactly ZERO cannabis consumers who put cannabis into their body with a syringe.

It’s actually, kinda creepy, how they are actually comparing the average cannabis consumer with the “medical” way of injecting cannabis into the body, via IV needle.

The truth is, if you’ve done ANY research on the “deeper” aspects of cannabis, you will know that you can’t “control” cannabis the way you control prescription drugs.

Part of the quantum WONDERS, in cannabis, involve the artistic dance, the ebb and flow, of how nature naturally interacts with your body. You can’t separate the specific cannabinoid molecules and expect to get a “predictable” function.

What the medical community is working, diligently, on is separating molecules from the cannabis plant, in order to patent the technology to make a profit. Right now, they know they can’t patent a plant. This is one of the core reason why cannabis is kept as “illegal” as it is. Cannabis is illegal, not because it isn’t safe, and, not because their isn’t any medical value. Cannabis is illegal because they can’t patent it and make MASSIVE amounts of money on it.

This is precisely what is so dangerous about how the medical community is to society. Versus, how safe and effective natural cannabis is, in its original form.

You can’t separate cannabinoid molecules and inject it to try and create a predictable response. This can’t happen, from my current understanding, because there are hundreds of cannabinoid molecules within the cannabis plant that work together, in harmony, to create the remarkable healing abilities it is currently able to produce, predictably.

Yet if they can separate a molecule and find some way to say it does any kind of “specific” function, they can put a patent on it. For example, marinol. They separated the THC molecule and turned it into an, incredibly ineffective, pill.

Very peculiar how they would inject mice with liquid cannabinoid molecules and relate it to CHS.

Specifically, when it comes to CHS (Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome) the methods the doctors got their “official” information is very strange. It’s creepy. Absolutely disgusting.

Injecting a mouse with high concentrations of a specific molecule and calling it science?

The methods they are using, to obtain information, can be compared to how they got their propaganda information back in the 1930, via Harry Anslinger. We can be certain that the individuals behind the production and facilitation of this OBNOXIOUS information is criminal and should be punished. Yet it won’t be. They won’t be punished because the department who produced this embarrassing information is also the same department who owns and controls the DEA, the police force and the law system.

Layer after layer of control goes into attempting to defile this plant and the truth is, they have yet to make a dent at corrupting the purity and the sanctity of cannabis. We know this because it has been assured to use, via ancient documents that extend all the way back to the beginnings of the creation of cannabis. (You can find the full story of the protection and creation of cannabis in my Cosmic Cannabis Culture series).

I will conclude part 4 by citing where I’m getting my direct information.

The link I posted above, has cited 76 reference articles, as they came to their discovery and conclusions of CHS.

In animals the effect of CBD on toxin-induced vomiting displays a biphasic response with low doses producing an anti-emetic effect whereas higher doses enhance vomiting [30,31].

Here they say that high levels of CBD will induce vomiting.

If you’re just looking at the surface information, it’s probably easy to agree with their conclusions that chronic HIGH levels of cannabis use could cause, what they now believe, to be the “new” clinical condition, known as CHS (Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome).

The two specific medical articles, that they cite in the quote directly above, is the numbers 30 and 31. Below are the links to the articles for you to quickly look at the direct information yourself.

However I want to make understanding the truth, very simple. And I will sum it all up, quickly and elegantly. Both 30 and 31 say about the same thing, so I’ll only “simplify” one of them and let you look at the repetitive information.

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14740147
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13680081
(The following is edited down a bit to remove the complex doctor lingo).
30) METHODS:

Shrews (mice) were injected with various doses of cannabinoid molecules, which induces vomiting. Shrews were also injected with CBD.

30) RESULTS:
CBD suppressed vomiting at low dose and triggered vomiting at high doses.

In part 5 we will discuss the alternative theory to CHS symptoms.
 
PART FIVE: What do experienced cannabis growers say is the cause of CHS?

In part 5 we will discuss what experienced cannabis growers have to say about what could potentially be an alternate explanation to the cause of the new clinical condition called CHS (Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome).

After doing a good handful of research, a few case studies have surfaced to offer an alternative explanation for the spontaneous emergence of CHS.

A solid alternative theory to CHS could be explained as being poisoned. Specifically, poisoned by a pesticide that was sprayed directly on the cannabis plant. More specifically, there is a molecule that could be causing all the problems associate with the “new” clinical condition, and this molecule is called Azadirachtin, derived from Neem Oil.

What could actually be going on is toxicity poisoning via “organic” pesticides with the molecule Azadirachtin, in it.

What is Azadirachtin, specifically?

Azadirachtin is a molecule that is in many products, used for insect control on your cannabis plant. Although the product, that contains Azadirachtin, isn’t specifically labeled to use on cannabis, for some reason cannabis growers began using this stuff left and right, because it’s labeled organic and safe.

This Azadirachtin molecule was said to be synthesized over 10 years ago. Very interestingly, this molecule is OMRI certified organic. Just because it’s labeled organic doesn’t mean it is safe to use, however you want to use it. Although being organic “should” mean that it is natural and safe? Maybe?

With a little bit of Google research, I went to the source of what “organic” is, and means, and how it is regulated.

The term “organic” is not currently regulated for many non-food products such as pet food, cosmetics, household products and fertilizers. These products may meet non-government, privately maintained standards, but the use of the term “organic” on labels is not federally regulated for these non-food products. For example, a fertilizer may be “OMRI Listed,” meaning that it meets OMRI’s standards for a fertilizer, but almost any fertilizer can use the term “organic” on the label.

On these “organic” pesticides, apparently have labeling that says it is made for fruits and vegetables, that you can wash off before consuming.

I can’t remember the last time I washed my cannabis before consuming it. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone washing, or rinsing, off their cannabis prior to use?

The labeling also says that it is safe to use it up to the day of harvesting. And that is just what cannabis growers began doing. This probably isn’t safe, because of reasons we’ll discuss ahead.

CHS did not exist until very recently. There’s no way the current arguments can state much of anything else. To say that cannabis is getting more potent and there are so many different varieties of strains, can’t be true, for the cause of CHS.

In simple terms.

CHS very well could be toxicity poisoning via the use of pesticides in treating bugs on the cannabis plant.

There are a few very specific products that cannabis industry professionals are beginning to discover that contain Azadirachtin, and that cause all the symptoms associated with CHS.

It doesn’t make any sense that CHS could be caused by chronic consumption of cannabis, by cannabis alone. However it could make sense, if the chronic use of cannabis was cannabis that had been inappropriately treated by pesticide with the molecule Azadirachtin.

A few questions I have at this point are as follows.

  • Are there more plants, vegetables or fruits, that use pesticides that contains Azadirachtin?
  • If so, why aren’t we seeing cases of CHS (or Azadirachtin poisoning) popping up more often?
  • Is there a test to determine whether these is an unsafe level Azadirachtin has been ingested?
  • Is there a test for the cannabis plant to check to see if Azadirachtin is present?
  • What are the symptoms of toxic levels of Azadirachtin?
Let’s take a quick look at a case study of someone who accidentally consumed 20 ml of Azadirachtin.

How much is 20 ml?

20 ml isn’t a whole lot. If we converted 20 ml into ounces, 20 ml would only be 0.68 ounces. This doesn’t even fill up half of a shot glass.

This tiny amount was enough to cause very similar symptoms as they claim CHS (cannabis hyperemesis syndrome) causes.

Orally consuming an incredibly small amount of Azadirachtin produced vomiting, similar to how CHS is described.

Does inhaling combusted Azadirachtin increase the potential toxicity?

Does the quantity matter? Does the method of consumption?

So far, the research, and public information, hasn’t gotten this far in questioning the problem.

Which is worse, smoking Azadirachtin or swallowing it?

How do we know this is azadirachtin poisoning and not CHS due to cannabis abuse?

As I research this question, I ran into information, of a cannabis grower, who did a side by side study.

They grew cannabis using Azadirachtin and grew a separate plant without using it. After the harvest, the cannabis was smoked and studied, for its effects, via personal experience of the person doing the research.

The conclusions of this side by side research revealed it was, in fact, the Azadirachtin that was causing the CHS symptoms.

While this study isn’t necessarily your “official” doctored language research, this story does begin to give us insight to alternative answers to how the “sophistication” of the government doctors can begin to manipulate reality.

I don’t buy the idea for a minute that CHS could have spontaneously emerged after all this time humans have been consuming MASSIVE amounts of cannabis, all around the world. If there was such a thing as CHS, I believe we would have known about it by now.

Final note about what the creators of Azadirachtin say on their website, about coming into contact with Azadirachtin, (also known as Neem Oil).

The USDA says it is safe. Whatever “safe” means by their standards. They say it is so safe, that they’ve even used it on cats, to control fleas. And they casually mention that “some cats died”, in this process. They don’t say anything about human toxicity though. However they do mention that they inject Azadirachtin into insects and the insects were fine. Super weird.

Now that we have an alternative theory, as to what could be the REAL cause of this condition, let’s move onto part 6 where we look at the cure and how to experience relief if you’re currently in the middle of experiencing symptoms.
 
PART SIX: What is the cure, how to find relief and how do you avoid getting CHS in the first place?

In part 6 of this series, we will be discussing what the cure is for CHS (Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome), how to find relief during the experience of symptoms, and how to avoid getting it in the first place.

As I began to do an in depth search for the cure for CHS, I began to realize that, there isn’t a whole lot of information about “fixing” yourself, once you’ve contracted this condition.

How the medical community will cure you is by making you stop consuming cannabis and try to manage symptoms with prescription drugs.

Currently I found a few tricks, revealed by the person who discovered that CHS is actually Azadirachtin poisoning.

What are some tricks to relieve the pain you’re experiencing from Azadirachtin poisoning?

For starter, one of the “strange” behaviors the clinical researchers uncovered was that all the patients, they were studying, had a compulsive habit of taking really hot showers, or baths. Somehow bathing in really hot water managed to eliminate the pain for short periods of time. The relief would only happen as the water was at a REALLY hot level. Once the water started to cool down, they reported that the pain would start to return.

The reason for hospitalization was usually because they ran out of hot water and couldn’t find any other method of relief. Also part of the reason for hospitalization could have been dehydration from extended hot bathing and constant vomiting.

To find relief, taking a hot bath could be a method you could try out first to get instant quick relief. However. I wouldn’t be focusing on using this strategy to cure yourself long term. This method should probably only be used short term, while you’re are working at figuring out how you’re going to utilize the other methods we will talk about.

The next, most immediate thing you need to do is, stop smoking the cannabis that has been sprayed with toxic levels of Azadirachtin. This is actually, probably the very first step you should take, before jumping into a hot shower.

What’s interesting is that the government researchers even acknowledge the “paradox” of how cannabis is suppose to relieve nausea, abdominal pain and overall pain in general. However, this was not the case with the patients they researched. There were a handful of patients who were “cured” of the condition, only to relapse into the condition after smoking cannabis again.

Interestingly, the government researchers initially assumed, and proceeded to produce their data from the point of CHS had to be caused by cannabis abuse. And so they go in depth into their theory as to how come the patients relapse into CHS after weeks of abstaining from cannabis consumption. They discuss how THC binds with the fat cells and gets stored, thus after going back to cannabis consumption, the THC is already there and releases itself, thus causing the pain to come back quicker. Blah blah blah.

What an alternative theory could be, is that the patient who relapsed into experiencing intense abdominal pain probably did, was consume cannabis that had the Azadirachtin on it, again.

If you didn’t know that Azadirachtin was the cause of the problem in the first place, you probably would never guess that you shouldn’t be smoking cannabis that was treated with Azadirachtin.

The next method to try is to consume cannabis that hasn’t been treated with Azadirachtin. This method, I would urge you to try with caution. Currently I was unable to locate information about how to figure out if your cannabis has been treated with Azadirachtin. The only real way to know is by asking the person who grew it.

Yet again, you have to be careful here. Because, the person who did the research, that discovered CHS is Azadirachtin poisoning, got lied to, by the grower who used Azadirachtin on the cannabis. The grower researcher that got lied to, knew he was lied to, after consuming it, feeling mild symptoms, confronting the Azadirachtin sprayer, got lied to again, trusted him, ended up being hospitalized again, confronting him AGAIN, and then finally he admitted to using Azadirachtin on the cannabis plant.

After learning about this story, I really really want to find someone, who is smart enough, to develop a tool, to test cannabis for Azadirachtin. How would the average Joe go about creating a way to test the cannabis to make sure there is no Azadirachtin on it?

Furthermore. I also want to find a method for testing your body to confirm you have Azadirachtin poisoning, instead of being diagnosed with CHS.

Why?

Because the government doctors are very smart and have very articulate and sophisticated arguments for their research and their findings.

If we, as a cannabis community, can figure out how to develop these tools, we can be certain that we can help a lot of people who are suffering from Azadirachtin poisoning. And w can stop the misinformation from populating.

The final methods to find relief, if you’re currently experiencing symptoms, is what the cannabis grower who discovered CHS is Azadirachtin poisoning used when he was experiencing symptoms.

Before I reveal the methods used. I’ll quickly cite the research the medical community used to treat CHS.

In the end, the point of the medical community doing research on “cannabis abuse” is to get you to stop consuming cannabis. If you feel like it is a better idea to listen to the medical community on this topic, it’s probably best that you stop using cannabis.

They say that lorazepam or haloperidol has provided relief for some people. Apparently their “usual” methods to relieve vomiting failed to work. These two prescription drugs, in my opinion, are very dangerous and have associated death with them.

Let’s look at the final methods for finding relief.

According to the person who discovered this condition was due to Azadirachtin, there are a few methods to find relief.

To find stomach relief you can drink, home-made honey mead. Who has home-made honey mead sitting around though?

Next, eating garlic pan-fried in olive oil. The claim, for how garlic works, is that it decreased the buildup of gas in the intestines and greatly reduced the pain, for a while.

Next. Fermented foods appropriate to your blood type. Here a list of a few fermented foods. Kefir, Kimchi, Kombucha, Miso, Natto, Pickles, Sauerkraut, Tempeh, Yogurt.

The theory, from the discoverer, is that the good bacteria, was killed from the Azadirachtin and the fermented food will put the good bacteria, back into your stomach and intestines.

Now that we’ve reached the end of this series, I feel confident that we are on the right track in catching the medical community in a lie.

Whether this lie was unleashed as a direct attack on cannabis, will be never be known. This very well could have been stealth warfare, on the cannabis plant and the cannabis community, to scare us into quitting cannabis. Or at least scare us back into agreeing with prohibition laws.

What is clear is that we need to have accurate information and we need to know who to listen to as we continue into the bright future of global legalization laws that will allow us to travel the world with our cannabis in our pocket.
 
Hmm...... Being a gardener and practicing supposed 'organic' techniques I found this article interesting because I've used Neem Oil. I may have to look into alternatives to Neem Oil.
Thanks posting this @momofthegoons!
 
Glad you posted this mom, but I'm skeptical. For one azadiracthin is not neem oil. It is a component of neem oil, along with dozens of others. I use organic neem and karanja oil from India.

Neem and karanja have been used in India for centuries. Along with it being a bug deterrent it is in cosmetics and toothpaste. You can literally eat it.

And I think most knowledgeable growers don't spray neem (or any pesticide) on flowers. If I notice mites after flowering has started I use other less aggressive measures, like spraying with lavender water, or lavender flowers soaked in water and then strained, or with celantro used the same. Anything in the mint family will work. Not great but it will get you to a harvest without poisoning the buds.

As long as I've grown herb I've only lost one crop to mites, and that was also heat stressed plants. A regular schedule of spraying in veg and up to flowers showing prevents problems later 90% of the time. But you have to be regular and relentless, especially in warmer weather. Good compost like worm castings will support preditors (that kill mites and balance micro life) and will help heat stressed plants.

There are organic labeled pesticides that list azadiracthin as its main ingredient. Something I've never understood because aza is only one of many other compounds that work to kill/bother/harass spider mites in neem oil. Why isolate only one? And now, after reading the article, are there consequences from using only one compound?

I speculate it might be like focusing on thc as being marijuana, it is, but so much more. And it doesn't work the same way in isolation. Some essentcial oils that are fine in mints, as an example, are dangerous (for consumption) when isolated and concentrated.
 
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One of the better articles I have seen on this subject.

Is Neem Oil Causing Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome?

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), a rare cyclical vomiting condition, is said to be triggered by too much cannabis. But many believe this isn’t true—and instead say the painful bouts of vomiting come from other factors, such as pesticide contamination.

Recently, the idea that neem oil (a very common pesticide) could be responsible for CHS has become a popular theory.

But is this theory plausible? While plenty of rare allergies and sensitivities to cannabis certainly exist—and some say that neem oil is the most likely cause—medical experts and CHS sufferers have concluded the theory simply doesn’t hold water. So what is the cause of CHS?

Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Defined
Doctors first identified cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome in 2004 when a new set of symptoms starting showing up for some cannabis users.

These patients came to emergency rooms complaining of recurrent episodes of intense nausea, vomiting for hours, and unusual body temperature shifts. Prolonged vomiting dehydrates the body, and in rare cases can lead to death from kidney failure.

Strangely, for all of these patients, the symptoms could be relieved by taking hot baths or showers.

Blood toxicology showed no drugs in these patients’ systems, other than cannabis. Most sufferers used large amounts of cannabis daily—grams of extract per day, or several ounces of flower per month. So doctors suspected heavy use might play a role, and recommended stopping use entirely to see if that helped. Most of these patients stopped their use and had their symptoms subside. But those who continued using cannabis, continued to be ill.


RELATED STORY
Real or Not, Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Is a Costly Diagnosis

Suddenly CHS was a thing. Even if the mechanism wasn’t fully understood, there was a clear profile of symptoms that was unlike anything else.

By 2012, more cases of CHS began to appear in the medical literature. While it is considered extremely rare, the exact numbers are hard to pinpoint. Some experts like Dr. Ethan Russo say there are only around 200 identified cases in the world. Meanwhile, there are online message boards and Facebook groups dedicated to CHS with thousands of members who believe they may have this condition.

A Neem Oil Theory of CHS Emerges
Despite the association between stopping cannabis and CHS symptoms going away, many remain unconvinced CHS can be a reaction to cannabis overuse. Some argue that the condition is actually the result of pesticide poisoning—specifically from neem oil, a pesticide commonly used by commercial and home gardeners.

Neem oil is deemed an “organic pesticide” as it comes from the vegetable oil of seed kernels from the neem tree (Azadirachta indica). Neem oil contains active ingredients like azadirachtin, nimbin, picrin, and sialin.

This theory gained prominence through CHS patients like Taeia Kaley-Dolan, who started doing her own research on the syndrome and noticed similarities between the symptoms of CHS and poisoning from azadirachtin, one of the chemicals in neem oil. Both CHS and azadirachtin poisoning can cause severe vomiting and nausea. However, azadirachtin poisonings are rare and symptoms also include not just vomiting, but seizures, acidic blood, and deadly nervous system swelling.

Kaley-Dolan shared her theory to help others with her condition understand that it might not be from cannabis, and many in the cannabis space echo the theory that CHS might really just be pesticide poisoning, or something—anything—other than cannabis.


RELATED STORY
Should You Fear Pesticides on Your Cannabis?

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is sort of like the boogie man for cannabis consumers. It comes without warning and turns your ideal medicine into your worst nightmare, but it’s also rare, so many have never met someone with the condition. It’s no wonder that the cannabis community pushed back on this theory, saying it must be misdiagnosed or totally made up.

Russ Hudson, a Barcelona, Spain-based cannabis consultant who has been working in the space for 27 years agrees. “I would posit that most veterans in the cannabis industry—people with 20-plus years of experience—think that cannabis hyperemesis is a made-up or severely ‘misunderstood’ (read; misdiagnosed) condition,” he shares. Hudson says that he’s never met anyone with this condition in his entire time working in the space, and isn’t sure it’s real.

According to Hudson, “Azadirachtin poisoning seems a likely culprit, as well as other types of contamination,” such as bacteria or other pesticides. He also points to allergic reactions to terpenes or an uncomfortable reaction to being too high as potential causes.

Registered nurse Doug Rhodes is a wellness educator who has seen two cases of CHS first-hand agrees with Hudson and Kaley-Dolan, saying, “I’m a firm believer that hyperemesis syndrome is from contamination, be that neem, pyrethrum, or other products.”

So could it be that CHS isn’t a real thing? Could it be that we are just seeing pesticide poisoning and there are no cases of true CHS—cyclical vomiting actually caused by cannabinoids?

Unfortunately, this theory doesn’t line up with the evidence.

Neem Poisoning Differs From CHS
While we’d all love to hear the news that CHS could be solved by avoiding neem oil, the medical experts we talked to say this theory doesn’t make much sense. The effects of these two conditions are just too different from each other.

“As much as I decry the use of pesticides on cannabis, their toxicity profile does not match the symptom complex or time course of CHS.”
Dr. Ethan Russo, cannabis researcher
“As much as I decry the use of pesticides on cannabis, their toxicity profile does not match the symptom complex or time course of CHS,” explains leading cannabis researcher and neurologist Dr. Ethan Russo. “Neem oil and azadirachtin generally have limited human toxicity, but can rarely produce vomiting (the only symptom in common with CHS).”

Dr. Russo points to the other symptoms of azadirachtin overdose like increased salivation, diarrhea, liver toxicity, and convulsions. “The latter symptoms do not match CHS at all,” he says. “This is someone’s wishful thinking, or just another conspiracy theory.”

Furthermore, neem oil poisoning cannot be treated with hot showers, a core feature of CHS.

Jeff Raber, PhD, a cannabis researcher and organic chemist, agrees that neem oil isn’t likely to be the culprit.


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Study Finds Top 5 Causes of Cannabis-Related Emergency Visits

“Someone sent the neem oil link to me a while ago and I was just like, ‘It doesn’t make that much sense,’” he recalls. “A lot of people use neem oil on that and on a lot of other products. We don’t see neem oil hyperemesis syndrome. I think we’d see a lot more cases because of the prevalence that neem has been used.”

These experts say that the CHS cases they’ve encountered and studied seemed to consistently respond to one major factor: cannabis use. They both believe that an overabundance of cannabinoids is causing nerve cell signalling dysfunction. The theory comports with what’s known about cannabis, based on cell, animal, and human trials. Take vomiting, for example. At low doses, cannabis can treat nausea. But at high doses—the opposite occurs.

“Phytocannabinoids such as THC are noted to produce biphasic effects, i.e., they may produce one effect at a low dose and an opposite effect at a much higher dose,” explains Dr. Russo. “THC is normally antiemetic, but perhaps in CHS this reverses after heavy chronic usage.”

Scientists know THC stimulates the body’s CB1 receptor—found in the brain and the gut. The body responds by decreasing the number of CB1 receptors on nerve cells. That’s how tolerance to THC develops. If the number of CB1 receptors falls below a certain threshold, boom, hyperemesis, scientists think.


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Another factor is the TRPV1 receptor, also known as the capsaicin receptor or the vanilloid receptor 1. This receptor seems to be involved in CHS, and is activated by cannabinoids. Issues with TRPV1 could explain why hot baths help, since they are also known to activate that receptor.

Still, what’s not clear is why this condition affects only a small subset of cannabis consumers.

While both doctors said more research should be done to understand this rare condition and the exact mechanisms driving it, both were also convinced that pesticides could not account for the symptoms seen in CHS.

Patients Get CHS From Clean Cannabis
Perhaps the biggest nail in the coffin for the ‘CHS is just pesticide poisoning’ theory is the fact that some patients have gotten CHS from cannabis that was grown without pesticides, including neem oil.

“You can have too much water. So why are we trying to pretend that you can't have too much cannabis?”
Alice Moon, CHS sufferer, Los Angeles
Take Jared Panks for example. The 39 year-old is a co-owner for Home Grown ORegonicX, a company in Oregon that teaches deaf individuals how to cultivate cannabis. He sources cannabis from his own organic garden, which is pesticide-free (including neem). So when he was diagnosed with CHS, he knew that pesticides couldn’t be the reason.

“I have all this documentation with all the genetics that I’ve grown, all the mold tests, all the pesticide tests, all that stuff, and I’m still getting sick,” he explains.

Panks’ symptoms line up perfectly with classic CHS—cyclical vomiting that increases with more cannabis use, and is relieved by hot baths and cannabis cessation. Panks’ worst attack left him unable to hold down food or water for 14 days. He needed to be hooked up to IV’s to survive the severe dehydration.

“For me, I think it’s an overload on cannabinoids,” he explains, adding that he’s tried cannabinoids other than THC, like CBD and CBN, and still had bad reactions. The only thing that has helped is lessening his intake of cannabinoids. “They can’t clinically say that anybody’s ever overdosed from it,” he adds. “I can say that I’ve overloaded. And that’s the truth.”


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Alice Moon, a 29 year-old from Los Angeles with CHS, says she is also convinced that pesticides are not the problem. She put her body through the ringer hoping that pesticides might be.

The cannabis public relations person was once a cannabis edible reviewer, but had to shift her career focus when she discovered her recurrent vomiting would only stop when she ceased cannabis use. After quitting, her symptoms subsided and Moon decided to try again.

“I started smoking pesticide-free weed because so many people say CHS is pesticides,” she explains. “But I smoked pesticide-free weed and my symptoms came back after a few months.”

Her last attempt was to use hemp-derived CBD from a source she knew used no pesticides including neem. But one day, a larger than normal CBD dose sent her back to the hospital with her worst CHS bout yet—16 days of non-stop vomiting.


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“I had so many moments where I was wondering if I was going to die because it was so severe,” she recalls. By the end of her stay she had three ulcers, a hernia, and a bacterial infection from the experience.

“Now, I will not be a guinea pig at all,” she explains. “I can’t do it. My body can’t do it.”

Since her own failed experiments getting rid of CHS without stopping cannabis, Moon has been outspoken about CHS and her belief that it is truly related to cannabinoid intake. “I 1,000% believe it’s not neem,” she says, adding that she even had a blood test that came back negative for any pesticides.

“I do believe people can have pesticide poisoning. I am not denying that that’s real,” Moon says. “But I do think that this isn’t that.”

Moon says that since going public with her thoughts on CHS, she’s gotten a lot of negative responses from the cannabis community.


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“I get so much online hate in regards to this,” she explains. “Every other day, people are telling me, ‘You made this up. You work for the government. You work for Big Pharma.’ I’m like, ‘No dude, I just want to be able to smoke weed again.’”

Moon says she believes in the medical benefits of cannabis but wants to educate people about CHS so they’ll stop as soon as they exhibit symptoms and not risk their lives thinking pesticide-free cannabis will help. But Moon says, “People don’t want to believe it’s real.”

“You can have too much water,” she points out simply “So why are we trying to pretend that you can’t have too much cannabis?”

Are Sub-Populations Sensitive to Pesticides?
While the bulk of CHS sufferers must reduce their cannabis intake to be cured, some rare sub-groups most certainly have CHS-like symptoms related to cannabis’ many added ingredients. One such person is Leafly’s own Natalie Bernstein, a performance improvement analyst.

“It’s really difficult to say that any one answer is going to apply to everybody.”
Natalie Bernstein, neem allergy sufferer, Seattle
Bernstein moved to Washington in 2014 to use cannabis to manage her chronic migraines. In the spring of 2017, she switched from a pesticide-free, illicit market source of cannabis to store-bought cannabis. By summer of 2017, she developed what she thought might be CHS—nausea and intense vomiting following cannabis use.

While she worried she had CHS, her symptoms didn’t line up. She wasn’t a heavy smoker. And hot showers didn’t stop the vomiting. Rather, the antihistamine Benadryl controlled her nausea, she discovered by accident.


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Bernstein has many allergies, and new ones can pop up seemingly out of nowhere. Suspecting a rare type of cannabis contaminant allergy, Bernstein started tracking her intake. To source neem-free cannabis, she used Washington state’s cannabis industry pesticide application data, and called growers directly.

She found a strong correlation between inhaling flowers treated with neem oil, and her nausea and vomiting. “My doctor told me that I was wrong, that it was THC, so I stopped seeing that doctor,” she said. “People say neem is ‘organic,’ but poison ivy is organic.”

By winter of 2017, she determined she could control her nausea through edibles, or inhaling neem-free cannabis.

Bernstein believes not all CHS cases are caused by heavy cannabis use. There’s probably a spectrum of CHS causes, where maybe 70% of CHS sufferers might have classic CHS, she believes, while maybe 20% have a reaction to pesticide toxicity, and 10% have rare allergies to even trace amounts of pesticides, like her.

“It’s really difficult to say that any one answer is going to apply to everybody,” Bernstein said. “I think what I have is more prevalent that what people know.”


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Neem Oil Generally Not Causing CHS
So is neem oil the cause of CHS? Generally not. The bulk of early evidence points to overactivation of the CB1 receptor. The old adage “moderation in all things” holds true.

There is a long way to go in understanding CHS, and why it only affects a segment of heavy cannabis consumers. More research is needed to fully understand what factors are at play in this mysterious condition.

Still, while we’d all love to hear that CHS is just a made up condition or a misdiagnosis of something we can easily fix, the pesticide theory doesn’t match most case studies. Patients like Moon and Panks are suffering from a very real condition, one that can’t be explained by pesticides.

When pesticides are taken out of the equation, CHS remains.
 

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