How CBD Can Help With Nausea
Nausea with or without vomiting can come on for a variety of reasons and can last a few minutes or remain constant. Short-term episodes might be due to pain, stress, motion sickness, reaction to medications, overeating or excess alcohol. Long duration can be the result of infection, food poisoning, or pregnancy. Chronic nausea can be caused by liver disorders and brain abnormalities. It also can come with some cancers, especially as a result of chemotherapy. Vomiting is more likely to occur with infections, food reactions or when food stops moving through the GI tract. In rare cases with chronic cannabis use, there can be Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome, a paradoxical condition that causes severe vomiting.
Nausea/Vomiting and Cannabis
NOTE FOR FIRST TIME READERS: Cannabinoids – such as THC, CBD – and terpenes are the main medically active components in cannabis (aka marijuana). For more information on these components, and much more about the plant, see our section on the Science of Cannabis.
Cannabis has been used since ancient times to treat and control nausea. The body contains naturally occurring cannabinoid receptors that are part of the endocannabinoid system, which is involved in regulating nausea and vomiting in humans as well as other animals. Ineffective treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting prompted the investigation of the anti-emetic properties of cannabinoids in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is currently approved in the US (since 1985) as dronabinol (Marinol), for treating nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy. It is also used to treat anorexia.
Dronabinol and ondansetron (a strong anti-emetic) or the combination of the two was part of a 5-day, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. An absence of nausea was 71% with dronabinol, 64% with ondansetron and 15% with placebo. This confirmed the anti-emetic effect of a THC-type drug. Cannabidiol (CBD) also suppresses nausea and vomiting within a limited dose range (in animal models). Sativex (CBD/THC approx. 1:1) has been found to decrease chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in preclinical trials.
A paradoxical side effect of cannabinoids on vomiting has been proposed as a possible explanation for the cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS). This occurs episodically or cyclically, and usually in people who have a higher chronic use of cannabis.
How You Can Use CBD to Stop Vomiting
The best methods of delivery include inhalation, or sublingual (under the tongue) THC or CBD products. Both of these approaches avoid loss of ingested medicine due to vomiting. It is suggested that CBD be taken in small doses in the 5-10 mg range are usually effective, or 2 puffs of a smoked or vaporized product. Tinctures are especially useful if supplied in a mouth spray, which doesn’t require swallowing. CBD oil may also be used if ingesting is not an option. In severe cases, a rectal cannabis suppository might be available, or you can make your own. The effects of CBD are often in the 10-25mg dose range and can last up to 8 hours. The choice between strains, CBD, or THC, is not so important here, as they all work.
