U.S. Seniors Nearly Double Cannabis Use In Just Two Years, Study Finds

Forbes

a day ago

U.S. Seniors are turning to cannabis more than ever, with use nearly doubling in the past two years, a new study shows.
Published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine, four researchers from the University of California and NYU Langone Health found that monthly cannabis use among adults aged 65 and older increased from 4.8% in 2021 to 7% in 2023, resulting in a 45.83% increase.
The reasons for this increase are attributed to several factors, including greater access to cannabis. As of today, medical cannabis is legal in 39 states and Washington D.C., while 24 states have also legalized it for recreational use. The situation was slightly different in 2021, when medical cannabis was legal in 36 states and recreational use was legal in 17 states. In 2021, New York, Virginia, New Mexico, and Connecticut legalized cannabis for recreational use.
The rise in access to cannabis, both medical and recreational, helps explain why more older adults are using it, especially as more people become aware of medical programs and the health issues cannabis can help treat.
This cross-sectional study analyzed 15,689 adults aged 65 and older using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), a nationwide survey of people in the U.S. who aren't living in institutions.
The findings show that, between 2021 and 2023, cannabis use among older adults in the U.S. saw a significant rise, with some groups showing especially sharp increases.
People with a college or postgraduate degree, for example, went from 4.9% to 8.3% in cannabis use. Among those earning $75,000 or more, cannabis use more than doubled, from 4.2% to 9.1%. Married adults also showed a big jump, going from 3.8% to 7.4%.
Older adults living in states where medical cannabis is legal were more likely to use it, and that number kept climbing from 5.4% to 7.9%.
'It shouldn't be surprising that use is becoming increasingly more common among people who live in states that allow medical cannabis, which could be due to increased availability or social acceptability,' said Joseph Palamar, the study's senior author in a press statement, adding that 'with respect to income, those with the highest incomes had the lowest prevalence of cannabis use in 2021, but by 2023 this group had the highest prevalence, which may indicate who has access to medical cannabis given its costs.'
The most dramatic increase came from people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), whose usage doubled from 6.4% to 13.5%. People with chronic conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure also reported using cannabis more. And those dealing with two or more chronic illnesses saw use rise from 3.5% to 8.2%.
The authors of this study concluded that these findings show a real shift in how older adults are using cannabis, especially those living with chronic illnesses, and that people with multiple health conditions were more likely to use it. However, they also highlighted that 'the use of cannabis products, especially with psychoactive properties, may complicate chronic disease management among older adults.'
These new findings line up with what earlier studies have shown. Back in 2020, a study published in the same journal looked at data from nearly 15,000 adults over 65 using the same national survey and found that cannabis use among older adults had already been on the rise for years, jumping from just 0.4% in 2006 and 2007 to 2.9% by 2015 and 2016.
In recent years, researchers have also started to study how long-term cannabis use affects older adults. For example, a study published last year suggested that taking low doses of THC over time may not only help protect the brain from aging but also boost memory, improve cognitive function, and support seniors's overall well-being and longevity. This likely has to do with a key cellular pathway called mTOR, which is a protein that helps control how cells use energy and build new connections in the brain, which are important for learning and memory.