Clare’s Story:

Clare, 60, has faced a lifetime of chronic pain due to multiple spinal conditions, including Degenerative Disc Disease and a spinal cord injury from a car accident that left her with nerve damage and a partially paralyzed bladder. After struggling for years with unbearable pain, she turned to cannabis for relief and used it for over 20 years.

In 2019, Clare tragically lost her mother just weeks before her wedding, followed by her father in 2022 — both to vascular dementia. Her grief was compounded by a mysterious illness that caused severe stomach issues and rapid weight loss. After two years of misdiagnoses and confusion, Clare was finally diagnosed in May 2025 with Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS). She had never heard of CHS before, but now knows it was the source of her ongoing suffering.

Since quitting cannabis, Clare has endured extreme stomach pain and continues to recover, currently still within the first 90 days of healing. She missed out on precious life events due to this condition and wants others to understand: CHS is real, dangerous, and it can be deadly. She says, “If I hadn’t been diagnosed when I was, I don’t think I’d be here today.”

Clare is speaking out to raise awareness and save lives, Her message is clear: CHS needs to be taken seriously — it is real, and it can kill.