Allergic to Pot

Marijuana allergies are real, and for people who have one, decriminalization has been hell

I’m allergic to pot. One secondhand whiff of somebody else’s joint and my nose clogs up. I get a headache and I start to itch. And if I’m around enough of it — say at a concert or something — I’m sick the whole weekend, coughing and weak in bed.

I’m lucky. Immunologist Dr Purvi Parikh says cold-like symptoms are on the milder end of marijuana allergy reactions. “Some people get full blown asthma attacks, rashes, and even anaphylaxis.” To clarify, “anaphylaxis” means anaphylactic shock — as in “shutting down your organs,” as in death.

While death by pot isn’t exactly common, allergies to it are. Scientists have known since the 1930’s that if you’re allergic to pollen or mold, you’re likely allergic to marijuana. Then, 22% of allergy sufferers also got sick around pot. But according to separate studies from 2000 and 2015, that number’s now 70–73%. 40–50 million Americans have seasonal allergies so — with a little math — as many as 36.5 million may be allergic to pot.

“People who already have seasonal allergies are more at risk because marijuana is a type of plant as well,” Parikh says. “Allergies have both a genetic as well as environmental component. Someone who’s never exposed to pot will likely will not develop a pot allergy. But as exposure gets…