SEATTLE — The University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOC) doctors have been noticing a trend among some chronic cannabis users: stomach pain and prolonged or severe vomiting. These symptoms, which have been increasingly observed in emergency rooms, according to UWSOC, are now officially recognized as “cannabis hyperemesis syndrome.”

Dr. Chris Buresh, an emergency medicine specialist at UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s, noted, “It seems like we see a lot of people coming in with this nausea, and this vomiting. A lot of belly pain.” He added that as he and his colleagues would talk to patients, they often found that the patients experiencing these problems were regular cannabis users. Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome is “a gut problem that starts within 24 hours of the most recent use and can last for days. Users experience symptoms cyclically three or four times a year,” according to UWSOC.

The formal name was recognized by the the World Health Organization on Oct. 1. The WHO updated its “International Classification of Diseases manual (ICD-10, currently) standardized the new code, R11.16, which also was updated for U.S. clinicians by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

The formal name recognition of cannabis hyperemesis syndrome will help addiction researchers collect data on the impacts of chronic cannabis use. Beatriz Carlini, a research associate professor at UW School of Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences Department explained, “Now that we have a name, we can better educate society to understand that cannabis, yes, helps to control nausea in some people. It’s very helpful for some people. But the other side is the opposite. They also can provoke very painful vomit with a lot of stress.”

Dr. Buresh mentioned that a hot shower is one of the few treatments known to alleviate the symptoms of cannabis hyperemesis syndrome. UWSOC said, “one over-the-counter treatment that may ease symptoms is capsaicin cream, an analgesic that creates a sensation of heat.”