More Seniors Are Regular Weed Users

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Add weed use to goofy jokes, outdated clothes, old music and other things Grandpa and Grandma enjoy that could potentially embarrass their kids and grandkids.

Marijuana use has increased dramatically among seniors 65 and older in the United States, researchers reported June 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

About 7% of seniors said they were current weed users in 2023, up from just under 5% in 2021 — a nearly 46% increase in just two years, researchers noted.

“If we look even further back to 2006 and 2007, less than 1% of older adults used cannabis in the past year,” lead researcher Dr. Benjamin Han, associate chief of research in geriatrics, gerontology and palliative care at the University of California-San Diego, said in a news release. “Now, we’re seeing that 7% have used it in the past month alone.”

Further, there have been pronounced increases in use among seniors who are college-educated, married, female or better-off financially, results show.

For the study, researchers examined data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Healthy gathered from 2021 through 2023. Seniors were asked about past-month cannabis use, which researchers considered current use.

“This is the first time we were able to examine current use of cannabis in this age group,” Han said. “Before, we were only able to look at past-year use because the numbers for current use were too small.”

Results also showed that weed use increased more among those living in states where medical marijuana is legal.

“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 senior researcher Joseph Palamar, an associate professor of population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City.

“Interestingly, 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,” Palamar added in a news release.

There also were significant increases in weed use among seniors with chronic diseases like heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and COPD, researchers found.

“As a geriatrician, I see more and more people interested in using cannabis for treating chronic health symptoms,” Han said. “But cannabis can complicate the management of chronic diseases and be potentially harmful if patients are not educated on its use and potential risks.”

In an accompanying editorial, a team of doctors urged their colleagues to talk with senior patients about weed use, to help them better understand the benefits and risks.

“Health care professionals should recognize that older adults are increasingly using cannabis products and promote open and judgment-free conversations about its use,” wrote the doctors, led by Dr. Nathan Stall, a geriatrician at the University of Toronto.

More information

The AARP has more on older adults and cannabis use.

SOURCES: New York University, news release, June 2, 2025; JAMA Internal Medicine, June 2, 2025

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