Unique case of cannabis hyperemesis syndrome in palliative care

The medical use of cannabis is growing. Medical marijuana may improve symptoms including pain and anorexia. While it may improve nausea and vomiting, it can rarely cause a hyperemesis syndrome with chronic use. Because this is a rare syndrome, case reports are important. A new case study has surprisingly shown that stopping cannabis use may not be necessary to alleviate cannabis hyperemesis syndrome. The case study and a review of the current literature on cannabis hyperemesis syndrome are published in Journal of Palliative Medicine.

Ileana Howard, MD, University of Washington and VA Puget Sound, Seattle, WA, presents the unique example of a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) receiving palliative care who was able to overcome the effects of nausea and vomiting linked to chronic cannabis use by markedly decreasing, but not discontinuing the use of cannabis. In the article entitled…