Why More Americans in Their 50s and 60s Are Smoking Pot

Between 2002 and 2014, marijuana use amongst these 55 to 64 years previous rose from 1.1 p.c to six.1 p.c.

Credit score: Justin Sullivan/Getty Pictures

Older People are among the many quickest rising teams of pot customers, in keeping with latest analysis and drug surveys.

For instance, knowledge from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) exhibits that from 2002 to 2014, marijuana use amongst these 55 to 64 years previous rose from 1.1 p.c of the inhabitants to six.1 p.c, a 455 p.c improve. (For comparability, utilization charges amongst 18- to 25-year-olds rose 13 p.c over the identical interval.)

In a brand new assessment of related analysis, scientists tried to know the explanations behind this development, and referred to as for extra public well being research on pot use amongst seniors. [Where Americans Smoke and Grow Marijuana (Infographic)]

Some have attributed the rise in marijuana use amongst older adults to pot-tolerant child boomers getting older. The Nationwide Survey of Drug Use and Well being certainly discovered that individuals who began utilizing marijuana earlier than age 30 made up half of all these over age 50 who stated that they had used marijuana lately. However the growing older of child boomers is not the one issue at play, in keeping with the brand new paper, revealed Wednesday (Jan. 11) in The Gerontologist journal.

Brian Kaskie, a professor on the College of Iowa Faculty of Public Well being, and his colleagues wrote that some older persons are benefiting from higher social acceptance of marijuana use and marijuana legalization in some states. The authors famous that earlier research have linked medical marijuana legal guidelines to a rise in pot use amongst all age teams of adults.

Medical points can also assist clarify the rise in senior pot utilization, the authors stated. Some older adults are experiencing age-related well being issues —similar to glaucoma, nausea, neurologic illnesses, neuropathic ache and most cancers signs —that may be handled with medical marijuana within the 21 states that presently enable it, the researchers stated.

Although a lot of the dialogue about legalizing marijuana has targeted on its results on kids, Kaskie and his colleagues argued that marijuana use amongst older individuals will pose its personal public well being problem, particularly because the American inhabitants ages.

Kaskie and his colleagues stated that the physique of analysis up to now presents docs and different specialists solely "glimpses into this imminent public well being problem." And lots of key questions stay unanswered, they stated: Why do older individuals begin utilizing hashish? Does marijuana use result in substance abuse? How are docs speaking to their older sufferers about hashish? Ought to medical marijuana legal guidelines be prolonged to cowl age-related medical circumstances? Ought to hashish be beneficial as an alternative to opioids or to deal with end-of-life ache?

"Presently, these types of crucial public well being coverage questions can't be answered, largely as a result of there's a pervasive lack of dependable and consultant info being collected about hashish and older individuals," the researchers wrote.

They beneficial statewide and nationwide surveys to take a look at how authorized, medical and social adjustments have affected older adults' attitudes and behaviors relating to marijuana use.

Authentic article on Stay Science.

Tweet