These conditions are rarely mentioned in the media. They are also absent from Canada’s online consumer resources on cannabis, despite their potential to be debilitating and, in some cases, fatal. More research is required to gauge the incidence rates of these conditions.
CHS is typically divided into three stages. In the first, prodromal phase, an individual starts to negatively react to cannabis, but vomiting has not begun. Symptoms include nausea, abdominal pain, heavy indigestion and lack of appetite. This initial phase can last for months to years, during which most affected people maintain normal eating habits.
Illustration of the mechanism linking cannabis use, stress, and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy proposed by Ma, Del Buono, and Moeller in 2019. Brain and heart icons courtesy of Freepik.
Although I research cannabis, I was unaware of TTC and CHS until I heard Liv Wilder’s story in episode 135 of the This Is Actually Happening podcast. I reached out to Wilder, who lives in the United States, to ask about his experience with cannabis and these conditions, which he also discusses on Instagram.
When Wilder was introduced to cannabis at age 20, he found a new sense of peace after struggling with anxiety and alienation since childhood. He began using cannabis daily.
After several months, he began experiencing intense nausea and vomiting that would last for hours. Some episodes required emergency room visits, where he received intravenous anti-nausea medication, but no clear diagnosis.
When Wilder switched from dried flower to concentrates, colloquially known as “dabs,” the higher dose of cannabinoids increased the frequency of his nausea and vomiting. Over the next two years of cannabis use, his nausea and vomiting became increasingly tortuous.
After a minor, unrelated surgical procedure performed under general anesthesia, Wilder breathed vomit into his lungs during recovery, turned blue and was rushed to emergency.
The apex of his heart had ballooned due to the stress of the anesthesia, years of chronic cannabis use and persistent vomiting. He was put on dialysis and life support, which led to a blockage in his right femoral artery, resulting in his foot becoming necrotic. His leg was amputated while he remained in a coma.
He woke up some time after his surgery as an above-the-knee amputee. Three years of chronic cannabis use had cost him his right leg.
Wilder was diagnosed with TTC, CHS, acute kidney injury and neuropathy in his left foot. He struggled with cannabis and alcohol abuse for 18 months following his amputation, but has abstained from both since July 2019. He is now very active in the gym, and loves rock climbing and camping.
Providing consumers with a regulated source of cannabis that is not synthetic, contaminated with pesticides, or laced with other drugs is necessary. As a scientist who studies cannabis emissions, I am an avid supporter of legalization. Nonetheless, commercialization of the market without sufficient cannabis education contradicts the goal of the Cannabis Act: to protect the public health and safety of Canadians.
Now that Canada’s federal review of the impacts of legalization is underway, it is essential to highlight chronic cannabis use and associated health risks. The government has an obligation to ensure that information about the health risks of cannabis use is as equally accessible to the public as cannabis products have become.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
