Journal of the American Medical Association published a new report funded by the federal government that found the use of marijuana among U.S. seniors 65 years and older had increased significantly in the past few years, despite the legalization of recreational and medical use.
The research report states that cannabis consumption has been increasing over the last two decades. It went from 1 percent consumption in 2005 to 4 percent consumption in 2018. These new results, based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), show that recent month use is now up to 4.8 per cent in 2021 and 7.0 per cent in 2023.
Report: The report shows that the prevalence of marijuana has risen in recent years among all groups, including those with a “non-white” race, women, college graduates and people in higher income brackets. It also increased for married couples, as well as those in states where medical marijuana is legal.
The data also revealed that those with chronic illnesses reported an increase in recent use.
The authors have identified some trends in the “shifts” of cannabis usage by older adults.
The researchers noted that, initially, the adults who had the highest incomes showed the least prevalence of cannabis usage compared to other income groups. However, by 2023 this had changed, and they now had the greatest prevalence. This may be due to the fact that medical cannabis is more affordable.
Report notes that the rise of cannabis usage among older adults in states where it is legal “highlights” the need for structural education support to be provided by patients and doctors in these states. This could lead to complications when treating chronic diseases.
This report shows that cannabis use amongst older adults is still high, as are tobacco use and alcohol abuse. “However, the results of this study do not indicate that simultaneous use has changed.”
In the report’s conclusion, it is recommended that doctors “consider screening older patients and educating them about possible risks associated with cannabis use”.
On Monday, researchers from the University of California San Diego, and New York University Medical Schools published new research findings in a letter.
JAMA’s report was accompanied by an editorial note that stated, “The existing evidence on medical marijuana in older adults is inconsistent. Many studies have suggested possible benefits and others found limited benefit.”
This report highlights other “apparent harms” that marijuana may cause in older adults. They include: “increased cardiovascular, respiratory, or gastrointestinal problems, stroke, sedation, impairment of cognitive function, falls and motor vehicle accidents, as well as drug-drug interactions and mental disorders.”
The editor’s note states: “Older Adults need information about the methods of taking cannabis, and dosing guidelines that are age specific.” Health care providers should be aware that more older adults use cannabis and encourage open, judgment-free discussions about it.
The new findings, says the report, “underline the need to gather more evidence of high quality evaluating cannabis’s benefit-to-risk ratio in older adults, as well as to provide clinician support for preventing cannabis-related harm.”
The American Medical Association published a separate study that found, despite the fact that marijuana usage among Canadian adults increased in the year following the legalization of the drug on a national level, the problematic use of the drug actually decreased.
This report was published by JAMA Network Open, and partially funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. It looked at the data of 1,428 adults between 18 and 65 years old who had completed assessment every six months from September 2018 to October 2023.
Overall, the frequency of marijuana consumption increased over a five-year span. The average number of cannabis-related days per participant increased from 0.35 percent to 1.75 percent in the study’s five years.
The biggest decline in cannabis use was seen by those who consumed the drug most often before it became legal. Before legalization, people who used marijuana daily decreased their frequency of use more than those using marijuana weekly.
The use of marijuana by those who had used it less than once per month before the legalization has increased slightly.
In the United States, as marijuana laws change more frequently, government officials and public health professionals have tracked consumer behavior. In the U.S., a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report recently broke down federal data on cannabis use among thousands of U.S. adults, finding that while smoking marijuana remains the most common way to consume it, methods such as eating, vaping and dabbing are growing in popularity.
In 2022, 15,3 percent of adult users reported using marijuana currently, and 7.9 percent said they used it daily. Among marijuana users, the majority (79.4%) reported that they were smoking. This was followed by vaping (30.3%), eating (41.6%), and dabbing (14.6%).
About half of all adults who used marijuana (46.7 percent) reported multiple methods of use—most typically smoking and eating or smoking and vaping.
Rates of both vaping and dabbing—as well as cannabis use in general—were higher in young adults than the general adult population.
An earlier analysis from CDC found that rates of current and lifetime cannabis use among high school students have continued to drop amid the legalization movement.
A separate poll recently found that that more Americans smoke marijuana on a daily basis than drink alcohol every day—and that alcohol drinkers are more likely to say they would benefit from limiting their use than cannabis consumers are.
The survey showed that U.S. adult drinkers are three times more likely than marijuana users to think they would be better off using less of their favorite substance. The survey also found that lifetime alcohol consumption among adult was more prevalent than marijuana use. However, the daily cannabis usage was more popular.
An earlier report published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs that found that secondhand harm caused by marijuana use is far less prevalent than that of alcohol, with respondents reporting secondhand harm from drinking at nearly six times the rate they did for cannabis.
Yet another 2022 study from Michigan State University researchers, published in the journal PLOS One, found that “cannabis retail sales might be followed by the increased occurrence of cannabis onsets for older adults” in legal states, “but not for underage persons who cannot buy cannabis products in a retail outlet.”
The trends were observed despite adult use of marijuana and certain psychedelics reaching “historic highs” in 2022, according to separate data.
In terms of older users, an earlier study on medical marijuana usage by those over 50 years old concluded that it was “safe and effective” to treat pain and various other ailments.
The study found that “most patients experience clinically significant improvement in sleep and quality of living, as well as a reduction in co-medication.”
The majority of patients prefer to use products which are eaten orally such as extracts and edibles as opposed smoked or vaporized cannabis.
In the study, patients were asked to use medical marijuana under the supervision of their health-care provider. They also had to report data on the medication they used, the pain relief, the quality of sleep and life, as well as any negative effects.
Over the six-month period of study, improvements were observed in quality of sleep, pain and life, the report notes. “45% reported a clinically significant improvement in scores for sleep and sleep interference.”
Last year, separate studies found that both older medical marijuana patients as well as people with fibromyalgia reported that cannabis improved their sleep.
A different study last year from the retirement group AARP found that marijuana use by older people in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the last three years, with better sleep as among the most frequently cited reasons.
The study found that Medical Marijuana could improve the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy while decreasing side effects.