Scromiting: The Latest Cannabis Scare Tactic From Big Pharma's Playbook

what is scromiting

"Scromiting": The Latest Cannabis Scare Tactic From Big Pharma's Playbook

Have you scromited yet? No? Well, buckle up, because that's the latest buzzword the propaganda machine wants you to associate with cannabis. And if you haven't heard of it yet, don't worry—you will. They're making sure of that.

Let me guess: you saw a headline in the past few days about this terrifying new condition sweeping the nation. "Scromiting"—the disturbing marijuana-linked condition increasing worldwide! Panic! Fear! Think of the children! Or maybe you caught it on your local news, delivered with that special blend of concern and sensationalism that screams "we need you to be very afraid of this plant."

Welcome to the latest chapter in Big Pharma's never-ending quest to keep you terrified of cannabis and reaching for their pills instead.

What the Hell is "Scromiting" Anyway?

Let's start with the basics. "Scromiting" is a cutesy portmanteau of "screaming" and "vomiting"—because apparently, medical conditions need TikTok-friendly branding now. It refers to severe episodes of Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS), where people allegedly experience cyclical vomiting so intense they scream in pain.

Sounds horrifying, right? That's the point.

But here's what they're not telling you: CHS has been around for over 20 years. It was first documented in medical literature in 2004. So why the sudden rebrand? Why the new scary buzzword? Why are headlines about "scromiting" suddenly everywhere?

Because "Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome" wasn't scaring people enough. It was too clinical, too medical-sounding, too easy to research and find out that it's actually quite rare. But "scromiting"? That's visceral. That's terrifying. That's the kind of word that sticks in your mind when you're deciding whether to pick up that joint or those pills.

The Propaganda Machine in Full Swing

I follow Google Alerts for keywords like "marijuana" and "cannabis." It's part of my job to track how the media covers these topics. And over the past few days, I've watched in real-time as "scromiting" headlines have flooded my inbox. Multiple outlets, all running virtually identical stories, all within days of each other.

This isn't organic news coverage. This is a coordinated information campaign.

When you see the same story, with the same framing, using the same buzzword, appearing across multiple news outlets simultaneously, you're not watching journalism—you're watching propaganda. Someone is pushing this narrative, and they're pushing it hard.

The playbook is simple: create a scary new term, flood the media with stories about it, trigger public panic, and watch as people question whether cannabis is really as safe as they thought. It's the same strategy they've used for decades, just with new packaging.

The Reddit Post That Started My Investigation

A while back, I came across a detailed Reddit post that did what mainstream media refuses to do: actually examine the data around CHS critically. The post, titled "Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome: The Data Doesn't Add Up," raised some extremely uncomfortable questions about what we're being told versus what the evidence actually shows.

Let me share some of the key points that should make every cannabis user and anti-prohibitionist pay attention:

The Suspicious Timeline: Cannabis has been used medicinally and recreationally for over 5,000 years. Yet somehow, CHS wasn't documented anywhere in medical literature before 2004. Then suddenly, in 2004, two things happened simultaneously: azadirachtin (neem oil pesticide) became popular with cannabis farmers, and the first CHS cases mysteriously appeared.

Think about that for a second. Five thousand years of cannabis use. Zero documented cases of this syndrome. Then neem oil pesticides enter widespread use, and suddenly we have this "cannabis-caused" condition? The symptoms of CHS are identical to azadirachtin poisoning: cyclical vomiting, abdominal pain, relief from hot baths, response to antihistamines like Benadryl.

This isn't coincidence. This screams cause and effect.

The Contamination Crisis They're Hiding: The data on pesticide contamination in legal cannabis markets is absolutely damning:

Washington State: 30-40% of concentrates fail pesticide tests
84% of all products contain pesticide residues
70% of pesticides transfer directly into smoke
California: 25 out of 42 legal cannabis products exceeded pesticide limits
Some products contained two dozen different pesticides
Over 250,000 contaminated vapes and pre-rolls currently on shelves

Let me repeat that: a quarter million contaminated products on legal dispensary shelves right now.

Geographic Patterns That Don't Make Sense: Countries where neem oil is banned as a pesticide have significantly fewer CHS cases despite identical cannabis usage rates. Canada banned neem oil and has dramatically lower CHS rates than the U.S. If CHS is caused by cannabis itself, why would banning a specific pesticide reduce cases?

The Problem Isn't That CHS Exists—It's How It's Being Used

Let me be absolutely clear: I'm not saying that people aren't suffering. CHS, or whatever we're calling it this week, is very real for those experiencing it. People are genuinely sick, and that's not something to dismiss or minimize.

My issue is with how this condition is being weaponized against cannabis while the potential real cause—pesticide contamination—is being systematically ignored.

The biggest red flag is the timeline. Cases of CHS increased 134-175% annually in California between 2009 and 2019. That's not a gradual increase—that's an explosion. And it coincides perfectly with the expansion of legal cannabis markets and the increased use of pesticides to meet commercial production demands.

Whether people are being diagnosed more often, or whether they're actually being poisoned by pesticides and nobody's connecting the dots, remains unclear. But what is clear is that the official narrative—"cannabis causes this, end of story"—doesn't match the data.

Why "Scromiting" Now?

The truth is brutally simple: "Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome" wasn't creating enough public fear. People heard the term, looked it up, found out it's relatively rare, and went about their business. The propaganda wasn't working.

So they needed a rebrand. They needed something visceral, something that would make people's stomachs turn just hearing the word. "Scromiting" fits the bill perfectly. It sounds horrible because it is horrible—but they want you to blame the cannabis, not the contamination.

Big Pharma needs to create panic around cannabis to protect their market share. Every person who chooses cannabis for pain management, anxiety, insomnia, or any other condition is a person not buying their pills. The pharmaceutical industry loses roughly $10 billion annually in states with legal medical cannabis. That's billion with a B.

So of course they're going to fund studies, influence media coverage, and push narratives that make cannabis look dangerous. It's not about public health—it's about protecting profits.

The Ever-Evolving Scare Tactics

Remember a few years back when cannabis was supposedly making people violent? They tried to push that narrative hard—"cannabis-induced psychosis leading to murder!" But it didn't stick because the data didn't support it and anyone with actual experience with cannabis knew it was bullshit.

Before that, it was "cannabis is a gateway drug" leading to heroin addiction. That didn't work either, so they moved on.

Then it was "today's cannabis is too potent" and would cause widespread mental health crises. Still waiting on that epidemic.

Now it's "scromiting"—the latest attempt to terrify people away from a plant that's been safely used for millennia. When this one fails to generate sufficient panic (and it will), they'll come up with something else. The tactics change, but the goal remains the same: keep cannabis illegal or so heavily restricted that Big Pharma maintains control.

The Contamination Problem They Won't Address

Here's what should be the real story: we have a massive contamination crisis in legal cannabis markets, and instead of addressing it, we're blaming the plant itself.

If CHS is actually pesticide poisoning—and the evidence strongly suggests it is, at least in many cases—then we need to:

Mandate comprehensive pesticide testing for all cannabis products
Ban the use of neem oil and other problematic pesticides in cannabis cultivation
Establish strict contamination limits with real enforcement
Fund actual research into the relationship between pesticide exposure and these symptoms
Hold producers and testing labs accountable for contaminated products

But that would require admitting that the problem isn't cannabis—it's how we're growing it and what we're contaminating it with. And that admission doesn't serve the prohibitionist agenda.

God Forbid You Make Your Own Choices

Here's the bottom line that really pisses me off about all of this: even if CHS is exactly what they claim it is—a rare condition caused by heavy cannabis use—it still doesn't justify prohibition or fearmongering.

You know what else causes horrible side effects in some people? Alcohol. Tobacco. Peanuts. Shellfish. Penicillin. Literally thousands of things that we allow people to consume because we recognize that adults have the right to make their own choices about their bodies.

But somehow, cannabis is different. Somehow, the possibility that some heavy users might develop a treatable condition (that may actually be caused by contamination anyway) means we need to terrify everyone and maintain strict control over who can access this plant.

God forbid you choose what to put into your own body like an autonomous human being with sovereignty over your mind and body. Especially in the land of the free—am I right?

The Sticky Bottom Line

"Scromiting" is propaganda. It's a rebranding of an existing condition, given a scary new name, and pushed through coordinated media coverage to create public panic about cannabis. The timing isn't coincidental—it's calculated.

The real story that media won't cover is the massive pesticide contamination crisis in legal cannabis markets. The real story is that symptoms blamed on cannabis itself may actually be caused by poisoning from agricultural chemicals. The real story is that Big Pharma will do whatever it takes to protect their market share, including funding studies and pushing narratives that demonize a plant that's been safely used for thousands of years.

Is CHS real? Yes, people are suffering, and that matters. But the cause may not be what we're being told, and the solution definitely isn't more prohibition and fearmongering.

If you're experiencing these symptoms, get help. Look into whether you might be consuming contaminated products. Consider switching sources or taking a break. But don't let the propaganda machine convince you that cannabis itself is the villain here.

The next time you see a headline about "scromiting," remember: you're not reading news. You're reading a marketing campaign designed to keep you reaching for pills instead of plants.

Stay informed. Stay skeptical. And stay free to make your own damn choices about your body.