THE CONNECTION SPHERE

written by Seohyun Kim   August, 2025

          One of the issues in the state of Nevada is the continuous increase in the number of emergency room visits for Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS). CHS is a condition that is caused by chronic uses of cannabis, and few of its symptoms are severe vomiting and stomach pain. The research studied data from the emergency department from years 2013 to 2021, and researchers focused on studying the patients who had both cannabis related mental health diagnosis and a vomiting diagnosis. The study uses interrupted time series analysis methods in attempts to compare the number of CHS visits before and after cannabis sales were commercialized in Nevada during mid 2017. The researchers also did a comparison between patients with CHS to patients who used cannabis but were not diagnosed with CHS by looking at age, gender, rad, mood disorder, and substance uses. The results of the research proved that the number of CHS patients visits in the emergency room doubled when sales of cannabis was legalized and were more available to the public. The study also concluded that CHS were much more common in young adults and females than any other age or gender. However, the study had several limits that could’ve affected the data. CHS doesn’t have a specific medical code for doctors, which means that during the study the researchers needed to pick out cases based on related symptoms. These limitations could’ve led to undercounting or mislabeling many patients. In addition, as the awareness of CHS increased among professionals and the general public it might have led to more accurate diagnoses rather than an increase in CHS patients.