Abdullah Mohammed Alghamdi , Omar Yassen Samman , Waleed Khalid Bahader , Taghred Abdulsalam Bakhsh , Sahab Muslam Altuwaylib , Mohammed Abdulaziz Haider , Abdullah Hisham Moemen , Yazeed Hassan Althuwaybi , Ibrahim Ahmed Alghamdi

Abstract

Cannabis use is a common behavior among adults and adolescents, particularly after legalization in certain countries. It also reported that pediatric exposure to cannabinoid-containing products has increased for the same reason. Acute cannabinoid intoxication affects almost every part of the body, especially cardiovascular, nervous, and gastrointestinal systems, in addition to its psychoactive effects. This article aims to review the background of cannabis and its impact on the human body and review the common adverse outcomes, including the fatal consequences. Also, in this article, we aim to address the therapeutic approach of cannabinoid intoxication in the emergency setting. We used the PubMed database looking for relevant articles on the topic, addressing the emergency setting specifically. We used the following Mesh words: Cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabinoid intoxication, emergency department. Cannabinoid provides various body effects, but gastrointestinal and psychiatric complaints were the most common symptoms requiring emergency visits. Luckily, most of those patients do not demand hospital admission and are successfully discharged after symptomatic management. However, severe but rare symptoms must be adequately addressed, especially in concomitant use of another illicit drug, leading to respiratory depression, severe cardiovascular outcomes, or even death.