3.5.20 Boulder Weekly

Pot use among seniors keeps going up

by Seymour

T

he  number  of  seniors  who  are  using  mari-­ juana  just  keeps  going  up  —  in  fact,  the  number  nearly  doubled  between  2015  and  2018,  according  to  recently  released  research  out  of  New  York  University.  Led  by  Joseph  Palamar,  the  NYU  team  sur-­ veyed  more  than  15,000  older  folks  —  65  years Â

old  and  up  —  and  found  that  4.2%  reported  using  marijuana  in  some  form  (as  compared  to  2.4%  in  2015),  with  certain  groups  appearing  to  be  more  likely  to  use.  For  example,  men  were  nearly  twice  as  likely  to  use  marijuana  compared  to  women  (though  there  was  a  whopping  93%  increase  in  the  num-­ ber  of  female  seniors  who  reported  using  marijua-­ na).  College-­educated  seniors  were  more  likely  to  use  it  than  those  with  only  a  high  school  degree  or  less,  as  were  those  with  higher  incomes  and Â

those  who  were  married.  Palamar  has  been  researching  marijuana  use  among  American  seniors  for  the  last  decade  using  data  from  the  National  Survey  on  Drug  Use  and  Health.  The  number  of  seniors  who  admit  to  using  marijuana  has  risen  sharply  since  2006,  with  less  than  1%  (0.4%)  of  seniors  reporting  using  mari-­ juana  products  that  year.  “Marijuana  use  among  seniors  is  not  bouncing  up  and  down  like  with  other  drugs,�  Palamar  told  CNN  in  late  February.  “It’s  a  straight  line  up.�

The  survey  asks  questions  about  “marijuana,  hashish,  pot,  grass  and  hash  oil  use  either  smoked  or  ingested,�  but  doesn’t  ask  directly  about  more  contempo-­ rary  methods  of  delivery  such  as  THC  or  CBD  topicals  or  pills.  While  the  survey  didn’t  directly  ask  seniors  if  they  were  using  mari-­ juana  specifically  for  medical  bene-­ fits,  Palamar  told  HealthDay  News  he  thinks  this  is  the  case. “From  what  I  see,  I  think  a  lot  of  older  people  are  using  weed  more  for  medical  reasons  rather  than  recreational  reasons,�  Palamar  said.  “I  know  someone  in  this  age  group  who  [thought]  never  in  a  million  years  [would  they] use  marijuana.  She  eats  a  marijuana  gummy  every  night  to  help  her  sleep,  because  she  feels  it  helps  better  than  anything  else.  I  think  this  is  becoming  more  common.�

But  Palamar  stresses  that  seniors  —  even  though  they  may  have  used  pot  heavily  in  their  youth  —  need  to  be  careful. Â

“If  you’re  in  your  late  60s  or  70s  and  you  haven’t  smoked  weed  in  decades  and  you  reiniti-­ ate  weed  one  day,  you  might  not  know  what  to  expect,�  Palamar  told  HealthDay  News.  “Your  body  is  much  different  in  your  60s  than  it  was  when  you  were  a  teenager.  You  might  not  be  able  to  handle  it,  especially  considering  that  weed  appears  to  be  getting  more  potent.�

Tracy  Mahaven,  an  associate  professor  of  pharmacy  practice  of  the  University  of  Wyoming,  told  CNN  that  seniors  need  to  consider  the  pre-­ scription  medication  they  are  taking  when  they  decide  to  use  marijuana.  She  specifically  pointed  to  the  the  blood  thinner  warfarin.  “Marijuana  may  increase  the  serum  concen-­ trations  of  warfarin  and  increase  the  risk  for  bleeds,â€?  Mahvan  said.  Then  there  are  concerns  about  dizziness,  falls  and  short-­term  memory  loss  (which  can  lead  to  forgetting  to  take  important  medications).  “Cannabis  use  was  very  stigmatized  in  the  past  but  now  we  have  all  these  new  laws  passing  about  medical  use  of  cannabis,  so  people  are  curious  to  see  if  it  is  something  that  can  be  used  to  treat  their  chronic  disease,â€?  NYU  study  co-­ author  Benjamin  Han  told  STAT. Han  stressed  how  important  it  is  for  health  care  providers  to  be  aware  of  growing  marijuana  use  among  seniors,  and  be  prepared  to  talk  about  the  potential  benefits  and  side  effects.  “As  health  care  providers,  we  don’t  do  a  very  good  job  of  screening  older  patients  for  substance  use,â€?  Han  said.  “This  is  something  we  need  to  be  asking,  and  be  prepared  to  answer  any  questions  about.â€?  The  study  was  published  Feb.  24  in  JAMA  Internal  Medicine. Â

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MARCH 5, 2020

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