More Older Americans Are Turning To Marijuana

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September 12th, 2018

Baby boomers who use marijuana seem to be using it more often than in previous years, a recent survey finds — 5.7 percent of respondents ages 50 to 64 said they’d tried it in the past month. The drug is also gaining popularity among people in their 70s and 80

Members of the generation that came of age in the era of marijuana are reaching for weed in their golden years.

A study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence this month suggests that increasing numbers of middle aged and older adults are using marijuana — and using it a lot.

The analysis comes from data gathered in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2015 and 2016. About 9 percent of U.S. adults between ages 50 and 64 used marijuana in the the previous year, according to survey results. About 3 percent of people over 65 used the drug in that time period.

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