What cannabis users should know about delayed stomach emptying

Gastroparesis is a condition of delayed gastric emptying in the absence of gastric outlet obstruction. Based on a 2018 US administrative health insurance claims database study, prevalence of definite gastroparesis (with documented delayed gastric emptying) was 21.5 per 100 000 persons. Gastroparesis, which is caused by reduced contractions of the distal stomach or abnormal pyloric relaxation, is more common among females than males (ratio, 2:1-4:1) and typically causes nausea, vomiting, early satiety, bloating, and abdominal pain or discomfort. In a large US epidemiological study involving 82.6 million patients, the most common causes of gastroparesis were type 2 diabetes (51.7%), postsurgical effects (15%), medication-induced (11.8%), idiopathic (11.3%), type 1 diabetes (5.7%), and other (4.5%). Other risk factors include neurological disorders (eg, Parkinson disease), hypothyroidism, amyloidosis, connective tissue disorders (eg, scleroderma), and viral infections (eg, norovirus, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, SARS-CoV-2). The 2022 American College of Gastroenterology and the 2025 American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) guidelines define the criterion standard diagnostic test for gastroparesis as gastric emptying scintigraphy with more than 10% gastric retention at 4 hours in patients with symptoms of gastroparesis without mechanical obstruction based on upper endoscopy or abdominal imaging such as computed tomographic (CT) scan. The carbon 13 spirulina stable isotope breath test is also approved for diagnosing gastroparesis by the US Food and Drug Administration. Based on the percentage of gastric retention at 4 hours, gastroparesis is categorized in the 2022 AGA clinical practice update as mild (10%-15%), moderate (16%-35%), or severe (>35%). Treatment includes discontinuation of medications that delay gastric emptying such as opioids, cannabis, anticholinergics, and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and for patients with diabetes, optimizing glycemic control. First-line therapies according to the AGA 2022 clinical practice update are a small particle diet (food that is blended or chopped into small pieces) that is low in fat and nondigestible fiber and antiemetics (eg, serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 [5-HT3] receptor antagonists, histamine H1 receptor antagonists) for mild gastroparesis; antiemetics and prokinetics (metoclopramide, erythromycin) for moderate gastroparesis, and liquid diet or jejunal enteral feeding for severe gastroparesis. Severe refractory gastroparesis may be treated with gastric peroral endoscopic myotomy (G-POEM), which involves endoscopic-guided incision of the pylorus sphincter muscle, or gastric electrical simulation, in which an implanted neurostimulator sends electrical pulses to the stomach muscle. Gastroparesis is a condition of delayed gastric emptying without gastric outlet obstruction that is diagnosed based on a gastric emptying study. First-line treatments include a small particle diet and antiemetics and prokinetics. Severe refractory gastroparesis may be treated with procedures such as G-POEM or gastric electrical simulation.