Increase in Senior Marijuana Use

With the aging of tens of millions baby boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964), the older population in the U.S. is growing rapidly. The boomers began turning age 65 in 2011, and by 2050 an estimated 84 million Americans will be in the 65 and older age group.

Many of these people tried or used recreational marijuana during their teens and 20s. But then they quit, and didn’t return to using it again until cannabis was legalized in many states. Interestingly, many seniors who have taken up marijuana again report feeling the same sense of guilt or shame from using it that they experienced in their youth, when pot was illegal.

A report in the journal Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine noted that the prevalence of marijuana use by people 50 and older increased 71 percent from 2006 to 2013. Additional analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicated that for people ages 50 to 64, the prevalence of past-year marijuana use increased from 2.95 percent to 9.08 percent between 2003 and 2014.

During the same time period, marijuana use by people ages 65 and older increased from 0.15 percent to 2.04 percent. These trends represent a 10 percent annual increase in cannabis use among middle-agers, and a 15 percent annual increase among seniors.

Of course, many of these middle-agers and seniors are using cannabis for recreational purposes. But some also use it for therapeutic reasons. For people who use marijuana to self-treat their medical symptoms, 30 percent are 50 or older.