Wednesday, September 30, 2026

How stoned are older Americans?

Serious stuff! Cause for concern! About 1% of older Americans are addicted to Cannabis.

"One in Nine Older Adults Who Use Cannabis Meet Criteria for Cannabis Use Disorder"

"Key Takeaways
  • An estimated 8.9% of U.S. adults aged 65 and older used cannabis in the past year.
  • Among older adults who used cannabis in the past year, 11.4% met criteria for cannabis use disorder, most with mild severity.
  • More frequent cannabis use was associated with a greater likelihood of cannabis use disorder.
..."

From the abstract:
"Background and aims
Cannabis use is increasing among older adults in the United States (US); however, little is known regarding details of use or cannabis use disorder (CUD) in this population. This study aimed to describe cannabis use and CUD among older adults in the US.

Design
Secondary analysis of the 2021–2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual cross-sectional nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized people aged ≥12 living in the US.

Setting
United States.

Participants
Noninstitutionalized individuals age ≥65 years (unweighted N = 21 189).

Measurements
We estimated the prevalence of cannabis use by recency (any past 12-month use and past 30-day use), meeting two or more Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 CUD criteria, as well as CUD severity and individual CUD criteria among adults age ≥65 years who used cannabis in the past 12 months. Cannabis use and CUD were compared across sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, modality of use (2022–2024 only), and individual CUD criteria. Bivariable generalized linear regression models estimated the relative risk (RR) of CUD for older adults with each characteristic and modality of cannabis use.

Results
An estimated 8.9% of older adults used cannabis in the past 12 months, and among them, 11.4% met criteria for CUD (76.0% mild, 20.1% moderate, and 3.9% severe CUD).
Smoking was the most common modality of past 12-month use (65.8%), followed by eating or drinking (40.5%), and vaping (15.4%); 19.9% had a doctor recommend any cannabis use.
Among older adults with CUD, the most common CUD criteria met were spending time obtaining, using, and recovering from the drug's effects (74.4%) and craving (67.5%).
Male older adults were at higher risk for CUD than their female counterparts [RR = 1.69, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12–2.55], as were those ever arrested and booked (RR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.07–2.37), with past-year mental illness (RR = 2.93, 95% CI: 1.85–4.65), past-year tobacco use (RR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.04–2.20) or drug use other than cannabis (RR = 3.22, 95% CI: 2.15–4.84), smoking as a mode of cannabis use (RR = 4.94, 95% CI: 2.39–10.23), and frequent cannabis use (e.g., ≥300 days vs. <300 days per year, RR = 3.70, 95% CI: 2.30–5.96).

Summary
One in nine older adults in the United States who have used cannabis in the past 12 months meet criteria for cannabis use disorder. Cannabis use screening, cannabis use disorder treatment, and additional intervention to prevent worsening severity are needed to minimize cannabis-related harms among older US adults."

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