TODAY ON TOTAL MAINE… SEVERE SYMPTOMS… “THEY LOOK REALLY SICK.” NEW DATA SHARED WITH US BY STATE’S LARGEST HEALTH SYSTEM PROVIDES RARE INSIGHT INTO A CONDITION LINKED TO HEAVY CANNABIS USE… AND THE SEASON OF GIVING… “THEY WANT THE BASIC NEEDS…” WHERE THE SALVATION ARMY NEEDS HELP MAKING SURE HUNDREDS OF MAINE KIDS HAVE SOMETHING TO OPEN ON CHRISTMAS… PLUS THE HEALTH CARE CLIFF… WE GO ‘IN THE ARENA’… WHAT CONGRESS CAN DO WITH OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES EXPIRING SOON. HI THERE AND THANKS FOR JOINING US ON TOTAL MAINE HERE ON THIS SUNDAY. I AM TERRY STACKHOUSE. IT WAS AROUND THIS TIME FIVE YEARS AGO THAT RECREATIONAL CANNABIS SALES STARTED IN MAINE. IT TOOK ALMOST FOUR YEARS FROM THE TIME VOTERS APPROVED RECREATIONAL USE BEFORE ADULT USE DISPENSARIES STARTED OPENING. THE MARKET HAS BROUGHT IN TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TAX REVENUE – WITH RATES SET TO INCREASE NEXT YEAR TOO. TODAY WE’RE TAKING A NARROW LOOK AT ONE OF THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH HEAVY CANNABIS USE THAT WE’RE STARTING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT. IT’S CALLED CANNABINOID HYPEREMESIS SYNDROME. IT IS A RARE BUT SERIOUS CONDITION THAT CAN BRING ON REPEATED BOUTS OF SEVERE NAUSEA, INTENSE ABDOMINAL PAIN, AND UNCONTROLLABLE VOMITING. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER – MAINE’S LARGEST MEDICAL SYSTEM MAINEHEALTH IS SHARING THEIR DATA ON THIS WITH US. “AS THE POISON CENTER MEDICAL DIRECTOR, PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK THAT I AM ANTI EVERYTHING AND I’M NOT. IF PEOPLE CHOOSE TO USE CANNABIS ON OCCASION, THAT’S FINE WITH ME. AS LONG AS THEY’RE ADULTS AND CAN MAKE RESPONSIBLE CHOICES.” DR. MARK NEAVYN IS MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR THE NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND POISON CENTER LOCATED IN PORTLAND. HE IS ALSO AN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT PHYSICIAN AT MAINE MEDICAL CENTER. CANNABINOID OR CANNABIS HYPEREMESIS SYNDROME – ALSO KNOWN AS CHS – HAS BEEN ON HIS RADAR FOR ABOUT A DECADE. “IT HAS CERTAINLY BECOME MORE AND MORE OF A PROBLEM AND THESE PATIENTS WHEN THEY PRESENT TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT, THEY’RE USING A LOT OF RESOURCES WHICH IS ONE THING THAT I THINK PEOPLE DON’T COMPLETELY RECOGNIZE. THEY GET PRETTY ILL. DATA IS STILL LIMITED BUT THAT MIGHT SOON CHANGE. IN OCTOBER, THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CREATED A NEW DIAGNOSTIC CODE FOR CHS TO HELP TRACK THE CONDITION. THAT PROMPTED US TO ASK MAINEHEALTH WHETHER THEY’RE COLLECTING DATA. THE HEALTH SYSTEM SHARED THIS CHART ON EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISITS ACROSS THE NETWORK. THE NUMBER OF ED ENCOUNTERS HAS RISEN STEADILY FROM 7 IN 2019 TO 83 SO FAR THIS YEAR. IS THERE A TYPICAL HYPEREMESIS PATIENT? IS IT A WIDE RANGE AND PROFILE? “IT HAS TO BE IN SOMEBODY WHO HAS DAILY USE, DAILY HEAVY USE FOR SEVERAL WEEKS TO MONTHS AND SO IT’S GOING TO BE SOMEBODY WHO’S ALWAYS USING AND THE CLASSIC KIND OF TEXTBOOK PRESENTATION IS THAT THEY PRESENT WITH INTRACTABLE VOMITING. AND THEY SAY THAT HOT SHOWERS IMPROVE THE SYMPTOMS, WHICH IS KIND OF KIND OF, GIVE AWAY THAT THIS IS CANNABIS HYPEREMESIS SYNDROME. THE ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE THOSE SYMPTOMS, DR. NEAVYN SAYS, IS TO STOP IS TO SPOT USING FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH. THE MAJORITY OF PATIENTS HE’S TREATED ARE BETWEEN 18 AND 25. HOW MUCH OF A FACTOR IS THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGHLY POTENT CANNABIS PRODUCTS NOW? “IT’S VERY OBVIOUS THAT THE POTENCY OF THC IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NOW THAN IT WAS BACK IN THE 90S OR BACK IN THE 70S. IT’S A DIFFERENT BEAR ALTOGETHER. AND USUALLY WHEN WE SEE HIGHER POTENCY USE, AND PEOPLE USING MORE FREQUENTLY DURING THE DAY, IT REALLY DOES INCREASE THE RISK OF THESE OTHER SIDE EFFECTS.” IS LEGALIZATION A FACTOR HERE DRIVING THE NUMBERS HIGHER? “ABSOLUTELY. I THINK IN EVERY STATE WHERE REGULATIONS HAVE OPENED UP CANNABIS TO MORE AND MORE PEOPLE, WE’VE SEEN MORE AND MORE SIDE EFFECTS. AND THAT’S NOT ONLY CANNABIS HYPEREMESIS SYNDROME. THAT’S ALSO A GREATER RISK OF EXPOSURE TO PEOPLE WHO SHOULDN’T BE USING CANNABIS LIKE ADOLESCENTS AND CHILDREN.” WE’LL HAVE MORE ON THIS TOPIC SOON – INCLUDING WHAT’S HAPPENING WHEN YOUNG KIDS WHO’VE ACCENTIALLY CONSUMED CANNABIS PRODUCTS END UP IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. IF YOU EVER NEED HELP – YOU CAN REACH THE NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND POISON CENTER AT: 1 800 222 1222. YOU CAN ALSO TEXT “POISO