Far from a gateway drug, marijuana helps today’s senior citizens exit the vicious cycle of pharmaceuticals and addiction.
Although marijuana was once considered a dangerous recreational drug by many senior citizens, today’s elderly are among the fastest growing demographic within the cannabis industry.
Another sector demonstrating elevated use, those adults aged 50-65 increased their overall consumption rate by 57.8% between 2006 and 2013.
The analysis of a 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which examined the demographic trends among cannabis users in the United States found:
“The prevalence of past-year cannabis use among adults aged ≥ 50 increased significantly from 2006/07 to 2012/13, with a 57.8% relative increase for adults aged 50–64 (linear trend P < 0.001) and a 250% relative increase for those aged ≥ 65.”
More than just an interesting statistic, this trend represents real a threat to the pharmaceutical industry’s bottom line.
In a related study published in Health Affairs, Ashley C. Bradford of the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia and W. David Bradford Ph.D. from the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia analyzed the quarterly data provided on all fee-for-service Medicaid prescriptions between 2007 and 2014.
“We tested the association between those laws and the average number of prescriptions filled by Medicaid beneficiaries. We found that the use of prescription drugs in fee-for-service Medicaid was lower in states with medical marijuana laws than in states without such laws in five of the nine broad clinical areas we studied. If all states had had a medical marijuana law in 2014, we estimated that total savings for fee-for-service Medicaid could have been $1.01 billion.”
We all want what’s best for our elderly relatives. A high quality of life, free from addiction, depression, or anxiety. And, mostbelieve the mountain of existing research which clearly demonstrates that overdose rates and the abuse of pharmaceuticals have declined precipitously in states that reformed their existing marijuana laws.
National Senior Citizens Day
On August 21 we honor our moms, dads, grandmothers, and grandfathers with National Senior Citizens Day. An opportunity to openly communicate and share valuable knowledge with the ones you love, below are 10 valuable talking points on ways in which medicinal cannabis can increase the quality of life for our senior citizens.
- Medicinal cannabis is significantly safer than most prescribed pharmaceuticals
- Medicinal cannabis is not physically addictive
- Medicinal cannabis can reduce the use and potentially replace many medications
- Medicinal cannabis comes in a wide variety of strains with varied potency
- Not all medicinal cannabis gets you “high”
- Medicinal cannabis is available as tinctures, edibles, and oils
- Medicinal cannabis stimulates creative thoughts and relieves depression
- Medicinal cannabis increases appetite
- Cannabinoid-infused balms relieve arthritic and neuropathic pain
- Medicinal cannabis and its efficacy are no longer a question
Unfortunately, more often than not, today’s senior citizens are regulated to a daily combination of toxic pharmaceuticals. Addictive, more often than not harmful, and incredibly expensive, these drugs kill thousands of seniors annually. And despite the recent assertion by some within the Department of Justice, that medical marijuana is a joke at best or harmful at worst, we’ve yet to have a single person die from a marijuana overdose.
credit:marijuana.com
