Emergency rooms across the U.S. have been seeing a strange and miserable trend: young people arriving doubled over in pain, screaming while they vomit for hours at a time. Known as “scromiting,” — a mashup of “screaming” and “vomiting” — doctors are trying to get a clearer understanding of what’s driving it.

The condition, officially known as cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), with “hyperemesis” meaning severe vomiting, was once considered rare. Now it’s showing up so often that some ER staff see a case almost every day.

Researchers say the rise tracks closely with the legalization of cannabis, and more importantly, with how dramatically THC levels have climbed. What makes CHS even stranger is that cannabis is widely known for doing the exact opposite: easing nausea and pain.

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What’s Scromiting and Who’s Affected?

When patients with CHS arrive in emergency rooms, they’re curled over, clutching their stomachs, and unable to stop vomiting, often for hours. The extreme discomfort and loud retching often come with frantic screaming, which is how the slang term “scromiting” caught on.

For years, CHS was thought to be extremely uncommon. Now, physicians say they’re seeing it constantly, especially among heavy cannabis users. Some teenagers have shown up in the emergency department five times in two months, Sam Wang, pediatric emergency medicine specialist and toxicologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, told CNN. It can become dangerous if the vomiting goes untreated. Long episodes can lead to dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, shock, and organ failure, he said.

New studies show how quickly cases have risen. One nationwide analysis published in Jama Network found that ER visits among adolescents (ages 13 to 21) increased more than 10-fold between 2016 and 2023. A separate study published by the same journal examined adults aged 18 to 35 and found a sharp spike during the pandemic, with rates remaining high ever since.

The term “cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome” was first coined by Australian researchers in 2004. Back then, the idea that cannabis could cause violent sickness sounded almost contradictory. Today, it’s an everyday reality for ER physicians.

Exponential THC Concentrations May Cause Rise in CHS Cases

The simplest explanation for the surge is potency. In the 1990s, an average joint contained around 1 to 3 milligrams of THC. Now, the same joint might contain 18 milligrams. It’s not unusual for patients to report consuming 2,000 milligrams of THC in a day, according to a study in Missouri Medicine.

The exact mechanism behind CHS is still a mystery. Many scientists suspect the endocannabinoid receptors in the gut are involved. Adding to the irony, THC has a long medical history of being used to treat nausea, especially for people undergoing chemotherapy.

But research on cannabis as a painkiller has produced unclear results, which suggests we still don’t fully understand how cannabinoids interact with the body.

Quitting THC Is the Best Treatment

In the hospital, treatment is pretty basic: anti-nausea medication and IV fluids to stabilize patients and rehydrate them. The only long-term solution doctors agree on is stopping cannabis use. Symptoms usually disappear when people quit and often return when they start again, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

At home, many people have turned to taking extremely hot baths or showers to stop vomiting. Experts theorize that because THC taps into the body’s pain receptors, the intense heat creates a competing sensation that interrupts the pain cycle, offering temporary relief.

For years, CHS was difficult to track because there wasn’t a formal medical code for it. According to CNN, that changed on October 1, 2025, when U.S. health officials added one to their records. The World Health Organization adopted the same classification, which should help researchers finally collect consistent global data. With more accurate numbers, scientists hope to better understand why scromiting happens and how to prevent it.

This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.

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Article Sources

Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:

• This article references information from an article published in CNN: ‘Scromiting,’ a bizarre condition linked to chronic marijuana use, is on the rise
• This article references information from a study that was published in Missouri Medicine: Emergent Medical Illnesses Related to Cannabis Use
• This article references information from a study that was published in Jama Network: Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, 2016 to 2022
• This article references information from a study that was published in Jama Network: Emergency Department Visits for Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome Among Adolescents
• This article references information from the Cleveland Clinic: Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS)