More Baby Boomers Turning To Marijuana, Study Says

(CNN) — Older Americans are increasingly passing the pipe. About 9% of US adults between the ages of 50 and 64 have used marijuana at least once during the survey year, while 3% of those over 65 have done so, new research finds. For middle-age adults, the percentage of cannabis users has doubled over nearly a decade, according to the study, published Thursday in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Older adults have seen a seven-fold increase in that period. Though marijuana use is increasing among older Americans, “most of these people are not first-time users,” said Joseph Palamar, senior study author and an associate professor in the Department of Population Health at New York University Langone Medical Center. “I don’t think we need to worry about millions of older people trying weed for the first time,” he said. “At least not yet.” ‘High rates of unhealthy substance use’ Palamar examined data from 17,608 adults 50 and older who took the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has conducted this survey each year since 1971 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Participants answer questions about their tobacco, alcohol and drug use in addition to providing demographic information and details about their health. Analyzing survey data from 2015-16 and 2006-07, the researchers compared marijuana users and non-users within and across...
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