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Daily Record
11 hours ago
- General
- Daily Record
Over 65s are using cannabis more than ever as records reach new high
Are seniors getting stoned? Cannabis use in older adults is higher than ever before. Adults over the age of 65 are using marijuana more than ever before, a new study has revealed. In fact, a staggering seven per cent of over 65s surveyed admitted to using cannabis in the past month. The US based study was led by researchers at the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at the NYU School of Global Public Health, and was published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Interestingly, the findings saw significant increases in use by older adults who are college-educated, married, female, and have higher incomes. 'Our study shows that cannabis use among older adults continues to increase, although there have been major shifts in use according to demographic and socioeconomic factors,' said Joseph Palamar, PhD, MPH, the study's senior author. Marijuana has been legalised for medical use in 39 US states and in 24 states for recreational use. Researchers in the new study examined data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2021 through 2023 to discover trends in cannabis use in older adults. If the over-65s reported that they'd used cannabis in the past month, this was defined as 'current' use. 'This is the first time we were able to examine 'current' use of cannabis in this age group. Before, we were only able to look at past-year use because the numbers for current use were too small,' said Benjamin Han, MD, MPH, the study's first author. The researchers found that current cannabis use among older adults had increased by nearly 46 per cent in two years. Current use for seniors rose to seven per cent in 2023, up from 4.8 per cent in 2021 and 5.2 per cent in 2022. This is a staggering increase from back in 2006 and 2007, when less than one per cent of older adults had used cannabis in the past year. Those who are married, white, have a college degree, and have an income of at least $75,000 saw a sharp increase in cannabis use over the study period. Older women also saw a significant increase in use, although older men are still more likely than women to use the drug. Expectedly, cannabis use grew more among those living in states where medical marijuana is legal compared to states where it remains outlawed. The researchers also found significant increases in cannabis use by older adults with chronic diseases, and those with multiple chronic conditions, including heart issues, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and chronic pulmonary obstructive disease. But the scientists urge users to take caution when taking cannabis for chronic illnesses. Han said: 'As a geriatrician, I see more and more people interested in using cannabis for treating chronic health symptoms. "But cannabis can complicate the management of chronic diseases and be potentially harmful if patients are not educated on its use and potential risks." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Axios
11 hours ago
- General
- Axios
Seniors' marijuana use reaches new high
Older Americans are increasing their use of marijuana to a point where some geriatricians are warning about weed's attendant health risks. The big picture: U.S. marijuana use among those 65 and older surged nearly 46% from 2021 to 2023, according to new research in JAMA Internal Medicine. The rapid adoption of state marijuana laws and commercialization of cannabis helped drive much of the increase. But there also are changing social dynamics that make marijuana more acceptable for dealing with chronic pain, stress and other conditions. What they found: 7% of adults 65 and older said they'd used cannabis in the past month in 2023, per data from the federally administered National Survey on Drug Use and Health analyzed by researchers at University of California San Diego and NYU. That's an increase from 4.8% in 2021, and 5.2% in 2022. The increase was more pronounced among women, though the percentage of senior men using the substance was still higher than women in 2023. The most pronounced increase was among older adults with annual incomes over $75,000, who went from having the lowest use among income categories in 2021 (4.2%) to the highest in 2023 (9.1%). The fine print: The data doesn't distinguish between recreational and medical cannabis use, though increased prevalence was associated with several health conditions including hypertension, diabetes and COPD. Changes to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2020 prevent direct year-to-year comparisons of the analysis published Monday to earlier periods, the study's authors wrote. Zoom out: Geriatricians say more research and better patient and clinician education on marijuana use is needed to identify risks, like the way it can interfere with other drugs. It can also impair the senses and cause accidents, an especially important consideration since U.S. cannabis has much more THC than it did decades ago. The findings show that better evidence is needed on the risks and benefits of marijuana use in older adults, three geriatricians wrote in an editor's note published in JAMA alongside the study.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Millions of US children have parents with substance use disorder, and the consequences are staggering − new research
About 1 in 4 U.S. children – nearly 19 million – have at least one parent with substance use disorder. This includes parents who misuse alcohol, marijuana, prescription opioids or illegal drugs. Our estimate reflects an increase of over 2 million children since 2020 and an increase of 10 million from an earlier estimate using data from 2009 to 2014. Those are the key findings from a new study my colleagues and I published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. To arrive at this estimate, our team used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2023, the most recently released year of data. Nearly 57,000 people ages 12 and up responded. As a researcher who studies substance use in adolescents and young adults, I know these children are at considerable risk for the disorder, and other mental health issues, such as behavioral problems and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Substance use disorder is a psychiatric condition marked by frequent and heavy substance use. The disorder is characterized by numerous symptoms, including behaviors such as driving while intoxicated and fights with family and friends over substance use. This disorder also affects a parent's ability to be an attentive and loving caregiver. Children of these parents are more likely to be exposed to violence, initiate substance use at a younger age, be less prepared for school and enter the child welfare system. They are also more likely to have mental health problems both as children and as adults, and they have a much higher chance of developing a substance use disorder in adulthood. Of the 19 million children, our study found about 3.5 million live with a parent who has multiple substance use disorders. More than 6 million have a parent with both a substance use disorder and significant symptoms of depression, anxiety or both. Alcohol is by far the most common substance used, with 12.5 million children affected. Our 19 million estimate is significantly larger than an earlier estimate based on older data. That study, which reviewed data from 2009 to 2014, indicated that 8.7 million U.S. children – or roughly 1 in 8 – lived with a parent, or parents, with substance use disorder. That's a difference of about 10 million children. This happened primarily because between the time of the two studies – from 2014 to 2023 – the criteria for diagnosing someone with substance use disorder became broader and more inclusive. That change alone accounted for more than an 80% jump in the estimate of children affected by parental substance use disorder. There was also a further increase of 2 million in the number of affected children since 2020, which reflects the rising number of parents with a substance use disorder. There is a critical need to better identify parents with substance use disorder and the children who are affected by it. In my experience, many pediatric clinicians screen children for substance use, but they are much less likely to screen accompanying parents. So the first step is to make such screenings common and expected for both children and their adult caregivers. But that is not the case now. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an expert panel that recommends screening and prevention best practices for clinicians, does not yet recommend such a screening for children, although that could help direct those in need to treatment and prevent the worst outcomes from substance use disorder. Additional intervention, which requires funding, is needed from federal, state and local government. This may seem fanciful in an age of scrutinized government budgets. But the alternative is a bill that comes due later: millions of adults exposed to this disorder at an early age, only to struggle decades later with their own substance use and mental health problems. The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Ty Schepis, Texas State University Read more: Alcohol use disorder can be treated with an array of medications – but few people have heard of them Drinking alcohol before conceiving a child could accelerate their aging – new research in mice Binge drinking is a growing public health crisis − a neurobiologist explains how research on alcohol use disorder has shifted Ty Schepis receives funding from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Any views expressed are those of Dr. Schepis and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIH/NIDA, the FDA, or SAMHSA. These funders had no role in any articles, and there was no editorial direction or censorship from the funders.
Medscape
15-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
1 in 4 US Children Live With Addicted Parents
Nearly 19 million US children live with at least one parent meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition; DSM-5) criteria for substance use disorder (SUD), representing one quarter of all US children in 2023. Over 6.1 million of these children have parents with comorbid SUD and mental illness, making them particularly at risk for adverse childhood experiences. METHODOLOGY: Analysis included nationally representative data from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health of the civilian, noninstitutionalized US population aged ≥ 12 years. Researchers followed the STROBE reporting guideline, with institutional review boards deeming the study exempt from review due to the use of deidentified data. Data collection involved interviewing one adult per selected household, who reported relationships to other household members, including biological, step, foster, or adoptive children aged < 18 years. Statistical analysis estimated weighted counts and 95% CIs of youth exposed to parental DSM-5–defined SUD, including disorders related to alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, inhalants, methamphetamine, and prescription medications. TAKEAWAY: Based on the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health total weighted number of 62,637,851 parents, researchers estimated 18,968,894 (95% CI, 16,806,368-21,261,446) children lived with at least one parent meeting DSM-5 SUD criteria. Among affected children, 7,643,244 (95% CI, 6,468,786-8,911,360) lived with a parent having moderate or severe SUD, while 3,409,675 (95% CI, 2,568,782-4,358,248) had parents with multiple SUDs. Researchers found that 6,148,289 (95% CI, 5,012,046-7,389,039) children lived with a parent having comorbid SUD and mental illness, defined as major depressive disorder and/or serious psychological distress. Parental SUDs predominantly consisted of alcohol use disorder, followed by cannabis use disorder, prescription-related use disorder, and noncannabis drug use disorder. IN PRACTICE: 'Children exposed to parental SUD are more likely to develop adverse health outcomes than their peers without parental SUD exposure, including early substance use initiation, substance-related problems, and mental health findings signal the need for more attention at the federal, state, and local levels on the children and families affected by addiction. Evidence-based, family-based treatments for SUD and mental illness can prevent adverse health consequences in this population,' the authors of the study wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Sean Esteban McCabe, PhD, Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking, and Health, University of Michigan School of Nursing in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was published online in JAMA Pediatrics . LIMITATIONS: According to the authors, the study faced limitations common to large-scale national surveys, including potential sampling bias, selection bias, and self-report bias. Additionally, the number of offsprings in households was truncated at three or more, suggesting that the estimates represented the lower bound of youths exposed to parental SUD. DISCLOSURES: This study was supported by grants RO1DA031160 and RO1DA043691 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health. McCabe reported receiving grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse during the conduct of the study. Additional disclosures are noted in the original article.
Newsweek
14-05-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
To Save America's Youth, Lawmakers Should Invest in Drug Prevention
Prevention remains one of the most effective and cost-conscious tools we have in our fight against the drug crisis. This National Prevention Week, we urge lawmakers to renew their investments in prevention and push back against industry-backed efforts to normalize drug use. To maximize their effectiveness, prevention programs must reach adolescents before they are exposed to substance use in their peer groups. Yet nearly one-third of 12- to 17-year-olds reported that they did not see or hear any substance use prevention messages in school, according to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. This lack of prevention education has serious implications for health equity, as racial and ethnic minority youth are less likely to report seeing these messages in their schools. Prevention takes a village. All sectors of a community must be aligned in order to set healthy norms. This approach guides the Drug-Free Communities Support Program, which involves sectors from businesses and media to schools and religious organizations. Unfortunately, numerous actors that pursue private profits at the expense of public health actively undermine these efforts. These include marijuana shops and, more recently, psychedelics shops. Our children are given conflicting messages when we tell them not to use addictive substances now being promoted throughout their neighborhoods. Given the increasing embrace of mind-altering drugs at the state level, it's no surprise that drug use has risen. A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that recreational marijuana legalization was associated with a 13 percent increase in past-month marijuana use among youth ages 12 to 17, and a 22 percent increase among young adults ages 18 to 25. Between 2012 and 2023, the prevalence of marijuana use among 19- to 30-year-olds increased from 28.1 percent to 42.4 percent, while it more than doubled from 13.1 percent to 29.3 percent among 35- to 50-year-olds, according to the Monitoring the Future survey. Over this same period, annual overdose deaths nationwide more than doubled from 41,502 to 105,007. As highlighted in the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions' The Hyannis Consensus: The Blueprint for Effective Drug Policy, the nation's drug policy "should promote a health standard that normalizes the non-use of substances." Our drug policies should not make it easier to use licit and illicit substances. A person holds a glass pipe used to smoke meth following the decriminalization of all drugs in downtown Portland, Oregon on January 25, 2024. A person holds a glass pipe used to smoke meth following the decriminalization of all drugs in downtown Portland, Oregon on January 25, 2024. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images Other things being equal, the harms of drug use will decline as the prevalence of drug use declines. Notably, the White House recently estimated that the societal cost of illicit opioids was $2.7 trillion––with a "t"––in 2023, which is "equivalent to 9.7 percent of GDP." Viewed through this lens, prevention is essential and must remain central to drug policy efforts. A proactive, upstream approach premised on prevention will also reduce strain on downstream systems like treatment and recovery. Policymakers must remember that prevention programs are cost-effective. A 2016 report from the surgeon general explained: Interventions that prevent substance use disorders can yield an even greater economic return than the services that treat them. For example, a recent study of prevention programs estimated that every dollar spent on effective, school-based prevention programs can save an estimated $18 in costs related to problems later in life. National Prevention Week is also a fitting time to spotlight novel approaches to prevention. The Icelandic Model is particularly promising. A 2019 study explained that "by working to increase social and environmental protective factors associated with preventing or delaying substance use and decreasing corresponding risk factors, the model prevents substance use by intervening on society itself and across a broad spectrum of opportunities for community intervention." In practice, this approach may encourage youth to join community groups and participate in extracurricular activities, which are protective factors against substance use. To scale what we know works, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy director nominee Sara Carter should relaunch a national prevention campaign, similar to the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. Those public awareness efforts were particularly effective in reducing rates of tobacco use, and will help set strong anti-drug cultural norms and promote health. The current administration deserves praise for centering prevention in a recent statement of its drug policy priorities. We fully support its plan to "encourage educational campaigns and evidence-based prevention programs, particularly in schools and communities." But it's time we back it up with dollars and programs. As we recognize National Prevention Week, we must not forget about the importance of prevention and its role in helping more Americans live healthy, drug-free lives. Dr. Kevin Sabet is President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) and a former White House drug policy advisor across three administrations. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
