{"id":2922,"date":"2021-07-13T13:14:35","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T03:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/high-potency-weed-linked-to-psychotic-episodes-mysterious-vomiting-illness-in-young-users\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T21:02:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T10:02:07","slug":"high-potency-weed-linked-to-psychotic-episodes-mysterious-vomiting-illness-in-young-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/high-potency-weed-linked-to-psychotic-episodes-mysterious-vomiting-illness-in-young-users\/","title":{"rendered":"High potency weed linked to psychotic episodes, mysterious vomiting illness in young users"},"content":{"rendered":"

July 11, 2021,<\/span><\/p>\n

BOULDER, Colo. \u2014 One day in fall 2018, Bo Gribbon began to vomit and couldn\u2019t stop. He threw up multiple times an hour from morning to night before his mother drove him to the hospital near their home here.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like Edwards Scissorhands was trying to grab my intestines and pull them out,\u201d said Gribbon, then 17.<\/p>\n

Over the next nine months, Gribbon went to the emergency room 11 times for the same problem: severe vomiting and screaming at the same time that lasted for hours. When a physician\u2019s assistant told him the likely cause, Gribbon didn\u2019t believe it at first. He had never heard of marijuana producing a side effect like that.<\/p>\n

Bo Gribbon, 20, went to the ER 11 times in 9 months for a condition that caused bouts of nonstop vomiting and screaming. Medical professionals told him it was from chronic cannabis use but he didn’t believe it until stopping cannabis finally made the vomiting stop.Robin Noble<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing that convinced me was that it stopped when I stopped smoking,\u201d said Gribbon, now 20.<\/p>\n

Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012. Several years later, doctors in Colorado and other states are expressing alarm over the increasing potency of cannabis and the health risks it may pose for young users \u2014 from psychiatric issues, including violent psychotic episodes, to the mysterious condition that plagued Gribbon.<\/p>\n

The condition \u2014 officially called “cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome” but now known to health care workers as “scromiting,” a mashup of “screaming” and “vomiting” \u2014 has popped up with increasing frequency at hospitals in Colorado, doctors say.<\/p>\n

The ER at Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo saw only five scromiting cases in 2009. By 2018, the number had risen to more than 120, according to data compiled by Dr. Brad Roberts, an emergency room physician at the hospital.<\/p>\n

Reports of the syndrome doubled in two different ERs in the state shortly after legalization, according to one study<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Roberts said the presence of these patients strains hospital resources. When faced with people suffering from bouts of nonstop vomiting, doctors often order up an array of diagnostic tests to rule out other underlying causes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use up a lot of medical resources to see if there is anything more seriously wrong with them,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

A 2018 national research review <\/a>called the syndrome \u201can increasingly prevalent and complicated problem for health care providers and patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2017 review of studies<\/a> found that 97 percent of people who developed the condition reported using marijuana at least once a week. About 75 percent said they consumed cannabis regularly for over a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese patients often undergo expensive medical testing, may require hospital admission for symptom management, and often experience significant delays in diagnosis,\u201d the authors wrote.<\/p>\n

Scromiting cases have increased as pot has become far more powerful, according to doctors. Experts say the marijuana consumed 20 years ago had levels of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient, of 2 percent to 3 percent, but cannabis products now sold in markets like Colorado can have THC levels as high as 90 percent.<\/p>\n

Dr. Timothy Meyers, the chair of the emergency department at Boulder Community Health, said when he first arrived at the hospital 18 years ago, it was a condition he never saw.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I see it practically every day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Psychiatric issues<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Four Colorado doctors interviewed by NBC News said they\u2019ve also seen an increase in the number of patients with psychiatric issues after consuming powerful marijuana. A 2019 study<\/a> found that consuming cannabis with THC levels exceeding 10 percent increased the odds of a psychotic episode.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost every day I see a patient in the ER who is having a psychotic break after taking high-potency THC,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Karen Randall worked in emergency rooms in Detroit for 19 years but she said she never saw anything like the acute violent psychotic reactions from high potency THC cannabis that she is seeing now in her emergency room in Pueblo, Colo.Dr. Karen Randall<\/p>\n

Dr. Karen Randall, who works in the Parkview Medical Center emergency room with Roberts, said she spent 19 years working in a downtown Detroit emergency room, but that didn\u2019t prepare her for what she characterized as the high volume of \u201cacutely violent psychotic patients\u201d in Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never saw anything like this,\u201d Randall said.<\/p>\n

Marijuana has long been considered a nonaddictive drug that causes few, if any, serious side effects. It\u2019s still not clear if it causes more serious mental health problems, but a growing body of research<\/a> suggests it can have damaging effects on adolescent brains.<\/p>\n

An increasing share of Colorado\u2019s $2 billion cannabis market is made up of concentrates or other products with high levels of THC, according to Tim Ruybal Jr., who founded Dyspense, a company that tracks inventory for the industry. Ruybal said concentrates made up 43 percent of the market share in 2020, up from 32 percent in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvidence for how cannabis, especially in higher concentrations, impacts mental health is growing and stronger, especially on how it relates to psychosis and schizophrenia-like symptoms,\u201d said Dr. G. Sam Wang, an emergency room doctor and toxicologist at Children\u2019s Hospital Colorado in Denver.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese impacts are seen more with higher-concentrated products and with more frequent use,\u201d Wang said.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers take action<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Randall and Roberts were among a group of Colorado doctors who threw their support behind a state bill designed to close a loophole that allowed young people between the ages of 18 and 20 to get their hands on large quantities of high-potency pot.<\/p>\n

Cannabis is not legal in Colorado for people under 21, but prior to the bill\u2019s passage in late May, 18-year-olds could get state medical cards after a brief call with a doctor, allowing them to buy up to 400 doses per day shopping from store to store.<\/p>\n

The new legislation requires those under 21 to visit two separate doctors in person to get a medical marijuana card and limits the amount they can buy from an individual store. It also restricts the amount of marijuana concentrates that people over 21 can purchase at medical dispensaries and mandates the creation of a tracking system to prevent people from going shop to shop to amass large quantities of pot.<\/p>\n

People stand in freshly painted circles, six-feet-apart, as they wait in a two-hour line to buy marijuana products from Good Chemistry on March 23, 2020 in Denver.Michael Ciaglo \/ Getty Images file<\/p>\n

Rep. Judy Amabile, a state lawmaker who represents Boulder, supported the bill and gave an impassioned speech<\/a> on the House floor linking her own son\u2019s experience with schizophrenia to cannabis.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverywhere he went, this product was available and in greater and greater concentrations and potency,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too late for him,\u201d she added. \u201cLet\u2019s talk instead about your children.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with NBC News, Amabile said she was surprised the bill passed with such wide margins.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me that is a sea change, and I credit this group of activist moms who testified, who really put in the work to educate legislators,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

‘My life was falling apart’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The bill is directed at young people like Will Brown, 17.<\/p>\n

Brown told NBC News his mother would sometimes find him on his bedroom floor unable to speak after he inhaled concentrated cannabis oil vapors in a process called dabbing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I couldn’t stop,\u201d Brown said. \u201cMy life was falling apart around me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jasmine Block, 18, said she got high-potency cannabis from dealers who obtained medical cards fraudulently.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted to profit off of these younger kids, who don’t have access to this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am an advocate for stricter marijuana policies and stricter doctor-to-patient relationships and the qualifications you need to meet in order to get a medical marijuana card,\u201d Block said. \u201cBecause [from] experience, it is so easy to get your hands on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Block and Brown are now sober and attend 5280 High School<\/a>, a Denver charter school for teens with substance issues. They said they\u2019re alarmed to meet kids in their recovery groups who dabbed in middle school.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s kind of terrifying to just watch,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s cannabis industry supported the new legislation. Truman Bradley, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group, said the trade association believes young people \u201cshould never use cannabis unless under the strict supervision of a medical professional.”<\/p>\n

Bo Gribbon is now sober and headed to college this fall to study electronic music.<\/p>\n

He said he\u2019s clear-eyed that what happened to him was a result of his own decisions, but he said the industry should also be held accountable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if anyone needs to go to jail, but I think they need to be sued,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gribbon\u2019s mother, Robin Noble, said pot may work for some people, but \u201cfor my son, it stole his curiosity and interest in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that he has stopped, she said, \u201chis general joy is back.\u201d<\/p>\n

  For more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

July 11, 2021, BOULDER, Colo. \u2014 One day in fall 2018, Bo Gribbon began to vomit and couldn\u2019t stop. He threw up multiple times an hour from morning to night before his mother drove him to the hospital near their home here. \u201cIt felt like Edwards Scissorhands was trying to grab my intestines and pull […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[78],"class_list":["post-2922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cannabis-conundrum","tag-cannabis-conundrum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2922\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}