Page 10 - BusinessWest February 3, 2025

cine has failed them in lots and lots of ways,” she told BusinessWest. “They’ve done the surgeries, they’ve done the anti-inflammatories, they’ve done all of the cortisol shots. They’re trying everything that the medical profession throws at them. And in a lot of ways, it’s just not succeeding.
“The number-one thing we hear
from seniors is the inability to get
a full night’s sleep,” she added. “I
would say that is probably the num-
ber-one reason why we see [older]
people come through our doors.
‘Is there something that will help me calm down or something that will relax me or help me sleep through the night?’”
Another interesting factor in the trend toward older adults using cannabis is postmenopausal women, she added. “That is a fascinating demo- graphic; they are going through aches and pains that they’ve never had before because of estrogen loss.
So joints hurt, and muscles aren’t recovering as fast because their hormones are diminishing. So they’re turning to cannabis for relief of aching joints and dif- ferent pains that they might have, as well as the sleep aspect.”
But they’re also turning on because, well, it’s enjoyable.
“We are finding in assisted-living communities that this has become a social aspect of their everyday life,” Sanders said. “So they’re having gummy parties and watching movies, they’re having tinctures in their drinks, or they’re buying seltzers or various things off the shelf, and they’re having fun little parties in their group.
“And I love that it’s becoming so social for them
Specifically, according to the poll data, adults 50 and older are turning to cannabis to relax (81%), get help with sleep (68%), enjoy the effects or feel good (64%), get help with pain relief (63%), get help for mental health or mood (53%), treat a medi- cal condition (40%), make a social gathering more fun or connect with others (31%), celebrate (26%), or experiment (18%).
Still, the AARP notes that, while many older adults are turning to can- nabis to help with health issues, 44%
of people who use it regularly have not discussed that use with a healthcare provider, which health experts say they definitely should.
“Even if your doctor, nurse practitioner, or phar- macist doesn’t ask if you’re using cannabis products, it’s important to offer this information, no matter whether you’re using it to address a physical or men- tal-health concern or simply for pleasure,” Dr. Jeffrey Kullgren, a primary-care physician at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and director of the Nation- al Poll on Healthy Aging, said in a news release.
Walters-Zucco agrees.
“It has to be a coordinated effort with their pri- mary-care physician,” she said. “They want to make sure that their PCP is aware and can effectively treat other conditions; they don’t want anything to be coun- teractive or interfering with other medications they’re taking.”
That said, she has spoken with doctors and com- municated with residents on the topic, and she believes cannabis can be a way for older individuals to avoid the pitfalls of opioid use, which remains a massive problem in Massachusetts, among other
MEG SANDERS
“We are finding in assisted-living communities that this has become a social aspect of their everyday life. So they’re having gummy parties and watching movies, they’re having tinctures in their drinks, or they’re buying seltzers or various things off the shelf, and they’re hav-
ing fun little parties in their group.”
because, ultimately, isn’t that how cannabis got start- ed? It’s all of us standing in a circle passing a joint, right? It makes us happy,” she went on. “They’re not passing joints, maybe, but they are passing gummies. I hope they’re having a lot of fun.”
Higher Numbers
National statistics bear out what Sanders and Walters-Zucco are seeing locally. According to
the 2024 University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging, about one in five people (21%) in the 50-plus age group said they used some form of can- nabis — food, drink, flower, or another type — at least once in the last year, up from 12% in the 2021 poll. Meanwhile, 12% of respondents reported using can- nabis at least once a month.
In 2015 and 2016, a time when cannabis was legal in very few places, about 3% of adults 65 and older were using it, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
According to AARP, older adults are increasingly turning to cannabis to alleviate pain, help them sleep, improve mental health, or cope with other medical conditions.
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