Actor David Krumholtz says he’s suffered from Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) and “almost died.”
The relatively rare nauseous condition is soothed by taking showers.
“It’s rare, but it’s becoming more and more prevalent yearly,” he told the audience at a Cinema Society screening of Riff Raff on Feb. 26. “The numbers are doubling every year.”
Krumholtz also commented:
• “You can blow out the [cannabis] receptors [in the brain], like blowing out an engine, making it that every time you smoke pot – not every time, but if you smoke it enough – you get wildly, dangerously nauseous.”
• “Essentially, they messed up weed. They made it too strong, and they don’t know why it’s happening. There’s a lot of theories.”
Ironically, from 2004-2011, Krumholtz played weed dealer Goldstein in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Harold & Kumar Escape to Guantanamo Bay and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.
CHS apparently only affects regular users. After taking “a long break,” Krumholtz says he became “a daily smoker” again.
What Causes CHS?
Krumholtz’s potency theory is debatable. Some think it’s due to pesticides, but if that’s the case then why wouldn’t it affect more users?
In Utah, a woman reported CHS symptoms after she purchased a “95% pure THC vape pen.”
Perhaps ingredients in vape cartridges are the cause? No one seems to know.
Dr. Ethan Russo, who has studied the condition, told CelebStoner in 2021:
“CHS can contemporaneously be conceived of, not as a ‘functional’ GI disorder, but rather as a manifestation of gene-environment interaction in a rare genetic disease unmasked by a toxic reaction to excessive THC exposure.”
He disagrees with the pesticide contamination theory, concluding:
“We have really not encountered this in therapeutic cannabis usage at low doses. It seems to only occur with high intake where tolerances develop over a long period.”
According to The New York Times:
“Last year, 6 million Americans may have had CHS symptoms from using marijuana. The syndrome’s rates have risen as more Americans consume higher-potency cannabis with greater frequency. Over recent decades breeding has dramatically increased THC content in the plant itself, while purified THC products are now ubiquitous.”
Krumholtz’s Career
The 46-year-old native New Yorker got his break in 1994 as head elf Bernard in The Santa Clause. He reprised the role in The Santa Clause 2 in 2002. As noted above, Krumholtz appeared in the Harold & Kumar trilogy. He also portrayed Isidor in the 2024 Oscar winner, Oppenheimer.
H/T: www.celebstoner.com
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