dagger in their hand ♪ ♪ love sending my love ♪ ♪ ♪ [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> announcer: this is "nightline." >> byron: tonight, the medical mystery. a rare and dangerous illness that strikes some marijuana users. >> i ended up in the hospital.

i was there for 2 1/2 weeks, constantly vomiting. >> byron: the debilitating and painful symptoms and why it is so hard to diagnose. >> there's no blood test. it does not show up on a cat scan. >> byron: the mother who lost her teenage son sounding the alarm. >> it does not kill you, but it did. >> byron: plus -- ♪ when you are fallen in the forest and there's nobody around ♪ >> the star of the hit musical back on broadway in a revival of "parade." raising jewish visibility and looking back at a fabled chapter of america's past. at a time when attacks against the jewish community are on the rise. >> this is the right place at the right time. the right story for me to be telling at this moment. >> byron: why its powerful message still resonates. >> announcer: "nightline" we will be right back. so i didn't think i needed swiffer.

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well, your family. that's why all of us work together to give them the care, and caring, that any family would. kaiser permanente. for all that is you. ♪ ♪ >> byron: good evening. thank you for joining us. we begin tonight with a medical mystery. the desperate search for answers. a rare and painful illness that appears to only affect some marijuana users. a mother speaking out after the shocking and tragic death of her teenage son. here is my coanchor, juju chang

>> juju: you are saying that this is the room where he passed. >> uh-huh, yeah. he was right there. getting rid of it. it was hard. it was really hard. >> juju: it is in this room that regina danny watched her teenage son take his last breath. >> juju: why is it important for you to keep so many memories in this room? >> it makes me feel closer to him. one of my biggest fears is he will be forgotten. >> juju: his life was just getting started. >> he had plans. >> juju: those plans tragically cut short in october of 2018. brian kinchen 17 years old when he died in his indianapolis home. the cause, something regina did not even think was dangerous. never mind a deadly. >> he was a sweet kid. he was funny. you were not sad about him for

very long because he would do the silliest stuff to make you smile. >> juju: like many teens, he liked fishing, basketball, drive-in movies. and he was a devoted uncle to his nephew, they didn't. but in the spring of 2018, that regina watched as her son's held the client. tell me when you first started getting sick. >> juju: the first time that i noticed the vomiting was april 7th. he was vomiting so much that he said he was feeling tingling in his face and his hands. >> juju: what did the doctors think? >> they took brian ahead of me. he was on oxygen. they said that the muscle contraction was anxiety from all of the vomiting. >> juju: did they run a bunch of tests? >> uh-huh. >> juju: what were they looking for? >> anything. they said he was dehydrated.

his kidneys went into failure. >> juju: and he is 17. healthy. >> yeah. >> juju: complete medical mystery. >> he lost probably about 30 pounds and a little over a month. as i was talking to the e.r. doctor, another doctor happened to walk past our room. and she put her head through the door and she said, you smoke marijuana? and ryan kent of looked at me and i was like, be honest and he said, yeah. and she said, those hot showers and bath help? he said, yeah. and she said, you have chs. ♪ ♪ >> juju: achs or cannabinoid hyper emesis syndrome, it is rare. >> it is a relatively unique condition that we see with patients who use relatively large amounts of marijuana, patients who suffer from this

condition have recurrent bouts of vomiting and abdominal pain. they are terrifically symptomatic and they can get very, very sick. >> juju: e.r. doctor exam says he has seen an increasing number of chs cases come to the doors at the hospital. for diagnosing the condition is not easy. >> there's no test that we can do. there's no blood there's no blood tests show up up on a cat scan. it can't really show you an image and say this is what it looks like. >> one study found that e.r. visits increased 13 fold over seven years. researchers point out that during this time, commercial sales of marijuana exploded. and so2 treated to a variety of cannabis products available. dr. carr bannick says more studies need to be done. >> we became more and more aware of this condition because more and more people are now using

marijuana products. marijuana products now have far more thc which we believe is the main chemical compound responsible for this. >> juju: in the u.s., cannabis samples seized by the dea found that potency rose from 4% in the mid-'90s to 12% to 20 years later. and during that time, the ratio of thc to cbd increased from 14 to 80 times greater. for years, marijuana has been used both recreationally and medically to fight chronic pain and nausea but for some, it is actually triggering the opposite effect. which is why in part, chs is often overlooked or misdiagn misdiagnosed. >> i ended up in the hospital. i was there for 2 1/2 weeks, constantly vomiting. >> reporter: she first became sick in august of 2018. she was living just outside of boston at the time. a city known for its top-notch medical care.

how hard was it for you to get a diagnosis? >> they tested me for ever with everything else and they cannot find the diagnosis. >> juju: so erica says she went home and did her own research. that is when she came across chs on the internet. eventually she says a doctor confirmed the diagnosis. air, says she gave up marijuana immediately. how hard was it for you to stop? >> once i knew it was killing me, it was immediate. but for most people, it is not that easy. >> juju: as erica began to recover, she started a support group on facebook called chs recovery. now has more than 20,000 memb members. >> when i was on my deathbed in the hospital, i was sitting there praying to god, please just get me out of here. i swear that i will help other people. >> juju: she has connected with people all over the world who are going through the same painful process. people are sharing their experiences. it is pretty graphic. >> very graphic. i mean, it is not unusual to see all of these graphic images.

>> juju: a lot of people suffered burns. why's that? >> the burns come from hot showers. >> juju: scalding hot showers, something many who suffer from chs say relieves their symptoms, at least temporarily. some doctors believe this is because of what possibly triggers symptoms in chs patients. they say when thc and cbd bind with certain receptors in the body repeatedly, it can spark a severe vomiting or nausea reaction. it is thought that applying scalding heat might trigger something in those same receptors that improve symptoms. what do you tell people who say this will never get better? >> it does get better. you just have to stay abstinent, stay care -- take care of yourself. >> juju: while there is not a cure for seizures, doctors say patients need to give up marijuana to start feeling better but expectations will say, well, i stopped for two weeks and i did not get better. so i must not be this condition. that you are labeling me with. and we educate and say, really,

you're going to need to stop for months. >> juju: regina says her son brian agreed to give up marijuana for 45 days. but when the symptoms did not let up, he got frustrated and started smoking again. >> that was upsetting, i'm sure. >> yeah. i thought maybe there was something else wrong. >> juju: but brian would ultimately succumb to complications of chs, just six months after his diagnosis on that fateful fall day. >> i called his doctor and i told his doctor, i feel like i'm slowly watching my son died. she said she would call in a prescription for nausea medicine and the -- the other thing she could tell me is send him to rehab. so i told brian, you have to quit. or i'm going to have to do this because i can't -- i cannot watch you die. he says, mom, i can't do this anymore. i'm going to quit. and i thought, okay, this is -- we are going to be okay.

♪ ♪ >> juju: but it was too late. >> he grabs his back. and instinctively, i thought, i called 911 and brian looks and he says, mom, i can't breathe. and he took his last breath. i remember praying so hard and begging god to take me instead of him. the paramedic came out of the room and she did not even have to tell me. i could tell by her face that he was gone. >> juju: it was not until the autopsy came back that she came to terms with what caused his death. dehydration due to cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. >> i had to process that because we -- we does not kill you. but it did. >> juju: in the five years since his death, regina has dedicated

herself to raising awareness about chs. why do you feel so strongly that you want to keep telling brian' a story? >> because i don't want another family to go through what we have because my son deserves to be remembered. he is making an impact. he is saving people's lives. >> byron: and thanks to juju. coming up, back on broadway, a revival of the musical "parade." why it is so personal. ♪ ♪ my a1c was up here; now, it's down with rybelsus®. his a1c? it's down with rybelsus®. my doctor told me rybelsus® lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill

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♪ ♪ >> byron: actor and singer-songwriter ben platt is back. another critically acclaimed musical with a purple and sobering message. the production is a full circle moment for him. here is my nightline coanchor, juju chang. ♪ you can't believe i do these deeds ♪ >> juju: what is it like being back in broadway? >> it is wonderful. i grew up doing musical theater when i was five years old. >> juju: i read that you were singing songs from "parade" in the car when you were a kid. >> definitely. we had a compilation. i remember not quite knowing the context of it and i remember seeing it and i was fascinated by the whole story and the realization that it was true. >> juju: now 20 years later, ben

platt is belting out those same tunes in the revival of "para "parade." it follows the story of leo frank, a jewish factory manager who was falsely accused of killing a 13-year-old female worker and ultimately lynched by a white mom. ♪ i never touched that child ♪ ♪ god ♪ ♪ i never raised my fist ♪ >> juju: what is it like to bring life into leo' a story? >> there's a lot of things that he stands for. there's not a lot about him as a three-dimensional human being and honoring that person. people. >> a period piece and it is but as the show progresses and goes forward, it feels less and less that way and more and more contemporary. >> juju: art as a social commentary has always been central to ben platt's craft. it has been six years since broadway break out in the musical smash.

♪ when you're falling in a forest and there's nobody around ♪ >> juju: the show's court message, acceptance, tough issues like loneliness and suicide. >> my dream has always been to be part of this community and it came true really young when i was 22, 23. >> juju: tony award winning performance. >> pretty wild still to me. i always hoped that i would be able to return. and i think my only fear after that experience was like, how do i come back and not disappoint? ♪ ♪ >> juju: and he has not. "parade" picking up six tony nominations including best act actor. raising jewish visibility, something platt doubled down on with a fashionable star of david at the met gala. >> i think this whole experience of doing "parade" has really helped me to embrace my specific jewish identity. feeling very prideful because everything we have been through

with the show. >> juju: he is also full of pride lean into his lgbtq identity, as a songwriter, singing about the love of his life, fiancé calvin in sounds like "imagine." ♪ i can't imagine life without you ♪ ♪ i can't imagine life without you ♪ >> juju: what is it like to stand at this intersection of these two communities that are under assault in some ways? >> i think it is kind of a rare intersection in the sense that there is not a lot of specifically representation. is about the truth of my identity and just make art as the backdrop. ♪ ♪ >> juju: his character's story sheds light on the history of anti-cemetery -- anti-semitism. >> our alert about the truth. you are paying 300 bucks.

>> juju: on opening night of the reviews in february to hate would be right outside the theater doors. a far right neo-nazi group protesting and heading out buyers with hateful rhetoric. expected to have that happen on the first night, just kind of snapped us back to reality. >> juju: what reflections have you had about what that protest means? >> there has been many different moments in which the universe has let me know that this is the right place and the right time and the right piece and the right story for me to be telling in this moment. like, this is very urgent and this needs to happen now. >> leo frank trial was a raging moment for the country. >> juju: jonathan is ceo of the antidefamation league, an organization fighting anti-semitism and hate which was founded in the wake of leo frank's conviction. >> leo frank was subjected to

anti-semitism. here was a man who clearly had been wrong, who was being rushed through the system. he did not have to -- due process. it generated immediate frenzy. >> juju: the modern adl still attracts anti-semitic attacks across the u.s., recording some 3,697 incidents in 2022 alone. the highest number on record since the radio began tracking more than four decades ago. frank was sentenced to death in what was seen as a sham trial. but after national backlash, the georgia governor eventually commuted his sentence to life in prison. >> an anti-semitic mob filled with very well-known politicians and members of the press and all sorts of men sprung him from his cell and lynched him. >> juju: but leo frank's case also led to a resurgence of the ku klux klan. >> in the year that leo frank was lynched, there were 200

members of the black community who were lynched. >> juju: although he was pardoned posthumously, all these years later, there's still work to be done. >> seeing the commuted show up and be ready to receive it. >> juju: as for what is next, he says it will be rooted in the here and now. >> i am going to work on my new outfit. hopefully i will get to tour that. anytime i get to spend time as a character like leo frank, it is a chance for me to express my own perspective. >> juju: you are quite literally living the dream. >> not quite. [laughter] >> byron: our thanks to juju. if you or someone you know has struggled with thoughts of suicide, call or text to the national lifeline at 988. you are not alone. coming up, orange haze. the smoke from canadian wildfires smothering much of the northeast. ♪ ♪ i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. thanks to skyrizi, i'm on my way with clearer skin.

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♪ ♪ >> byron: and finally tonight, the stunning images of the haze from the canadian wildfires choking the northeast. this is a time lapse video of the empire state building. the city's air quality measuring the worst in the world today. the statue of liberty barely visible and this image of the chrysler building, yankee stadium empty after the game was postponed. major league baseball also canceled the game in philadelphia. that is "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we will see right back here, same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.