Everything has a good and a bad side–even weed. Though it is hard for some to accept, there are negatives to smoking lots of pot for many years. One is potential heart issues, lung problems, and, for a select group of unlucky connoisseurs, cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS).
Those who struggle with CHS share heartbreaking testimonies of health issues that often land them in the emergency room. People are struggling with this ailment that causes nausea, cyclical vomiting, and more uncomfortable symptoms.
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CHS has been heavily publicized in the last few months. Features have been splashed across big-name publications, and research papers have been accepted into science journals. Now, a beloved celebrity admits that the controversial syndrome almost claimed his life.
Brave actor speaks on CHS
David Krumholtz played a key role in beloved Millennial classics like The Santa Clause and The Addams Family Values. More recently, he shared the silver screen with Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer. Now, he has become a key voice in raising CHS awareness following a Page Six interview at a Cinema Society screening of the 2024 film Riff Raff on February 26th.
“It’s rare, [but] it’s becoming more and more prevalent yearly — like, numbers are doubling every year,” he told Page Six. “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I almost died a couple of times.”
The actor believes that nobody talks about the dangers of weed because it’s a drug that doesn’t kill you. However, he has ER bills “up the wazoo,” calling CHS as “serious as a heart attack,” according to his testimony shared with the gossip publication.
Krumholtz believes potency could be to blame for the disease, but added that there is no concrete reason as to why it’s happening.
“Essentially, they messed up weed,” Krumholtz added in the interview. “They made it too strong, and they don’t know why it’s happening. There’s a lot of theories.”
Medical professionals are much closer to characterizing the condition, but the causation is still up for debate. It may be an overstimulation of cannabis receptors, which makes sense as it happens to people after long-term use.
Another theory posits that the ailment could have something to do with cannabinoid accumulation in fat cells. The last is the idea that weed interferes with the ability to regulate nausea and vomiting, making the system fall into bouts of cyclical throw-up events. Whatever the cause, there are people like Krumholtz who are suffering or have suffered from CHS.
The beloved former head Santa Claus elf took a long break and can now consume cannabis again. That is not the case for every CHS patient. Some give up the plant forever. Krumholtz is adamant that more caution should accompany the increasingly potent products, like a dispensary pamphlet for starters. He posed his own warning to Page Six.
“Now that it’s super strong, it’s really addictive,” Krumholtz asserted.
