Mandy Oaklander | September 04, 2026

Today, the judge in the trial of Lindsay Clancy—a woman charged with killing her three young children—declared a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Clancy’s defense argued that she couldn't be held criminally responsible because she suffered from postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings.

Postpartum psychosis is much less common and more severe than postpartum depression. But the closely watched case has brought attention to maternal mental health during the vulnerable time after childbirth. In her new piece, Angela Haupt asked experts how best to support someone who may have postpartum depression.

TODAY’S TOPICS

A strange side effect of cannabis
Nurses on strike
Got a question for us?
What we owe our parents

QUICK CHAT

The mysterious link between cannabis and vomiting

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a condition that includes the painful and debilitating symptom colloquially known as "scromiting": screaming and vomiting at the same time. The syndrome is showing up more often in emergency rooms nationwide.

For my story about its rise, I spoke with Dr. Thangam Venkatesan of the Ohio State University, an expert on the syndrome and the related condition of cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS). —Veronique Greenwood, Staff Writer

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Anastassiya Bezhekeneva—Getty Images

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is defined as repeated vomiting in the context of heavy cannabis use. But it doesn't happen to everybody who uses marijauna. What are some theories about why this happens?

We've done some studies, and we've looked at the genetic aspect of it. There's something called the endocannabinoid system. We all produce marijuana-like substances, which also act on cannabinoid receptors. Then, when you start smoking cannabis, it can cause what we call downregulation of cannabinoid receptors of the body.

They're present everywhere in your body—in the nervous system, in your brain, in areas that are important for nausea—and so you're interfering with this.

Why is there an increased rate of reports of the syndrome in emergency rooms?

Aggressive marketing has created a perception that marijuana is not risky. Many people actually consider it beneficial, and they use it for things like pain or anxiety. But over the last two decades, the potency of marijuana has increased substantially. It's not the same product [as it was before].

Where do you think the field should go from here?

I would like to understand the true association between cannabis and cyclic vomiting. What are the factors? Is it only a subset of patients who are probably more prone?

I think personally that CHS is a subset of CVS. So if you have a predisposition already, and you have multiple hits, and then your body is unable to cope or adapt, then you have this episode. I would like to study that association.

We need to better understand what's happening with the endocannabinoid system and receptors and signaling, and find new therapies for it. I would like to have an international registry and a database. I have a bazillion ideas—the only thing is, money is the barrier.

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TODAY I LEARNED

Nurses are on strike

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how tough nursing jobs have become and how high turnover often is—but experts say that hospitals could do more to make nursing jobs better. Now, nurses are pushing back. They went on strike this week at four hospitals across the country to protest working conditions. —Alana Semuels, Senior Correspondent

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