Report says marijuana is used by nearly half of older drug users
\nAn estimated 4.3 million Americans age 50 and older\u2039roughly one out of every 20 in that age group\u2039have used at least one drug illicitly within the past year, according to a government report released today that offers an intriguing snapshot of aging Americans and drugs.<\/p>\n
Those who admitted to illicit drug use included nearly one in 10 boomers between ages 50 and 54, and one in 14 of those between 55 and 59, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which included a sample of nearly 20,000 older Americans.<\/p>\n
Of the group that said they used drugs, marijuana was the drug of choice for nearly half of those 50 and older (44.9 percent). One-third (33.4 percent) admitted to taking prescription drugs for purposes other than their intended use. The survey was sponsored by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).<\/p>\n
The findings follow previous research from the agency, released last summer, noting that marijuana use among those in their 50s increased by 84 percent since 2002. \u00b3For the most part, this is a group of people that, as they age, never gave it up,\u00b2 Peter Delany, who directs the agency\u00b9s research, tells Bulletin Today.
\nMarijuana use was more prevalent among those in their 50s than in other age groups, the new report finds, while nonmedical use of prescription drugs was more common in men and women 65 and older. \u00b3We can\u00b9t explain why more older adults are misusing prescription drugs,\u00b2 Delany says, \u00b3but we can say that those medications are more available than they used to be.\u00b2 It may be, he says, that people with valid prescriptions are disposing of their medication improperly, or that some are sharing their medication with others.<\/p>\n
The survey did not track the reasons for taking the drugs\u2039whether they were for pain or for pleasure. But, Delany adds, \u00b3If this trend continues\u2039and we expect it will\u2039the number of those in this age group who need treatment may double this decade.\u00b2<\/p>\n
He sees the findings as a wake-up call for health professionals to do a better job of screening older patients for signs of drug abuse or misuse. \u00b3When I go to my physician,\u00b2 Delany says, \u00b3I\u00b9m asked about my tobacco and alcohol use, but I\u00b9m not asked if I\u00b9m using drugs. Also, I\u00b9m not asked if I\u00b9m feeling sad or want to hurt myself.\u00b2<\/p>\n
Looking at all age groups, researchers find that men have higher rates of all types of illicit drug use, with one exception: women between ages 60 and 64. They are nearly twice as likely as men in their age group to take prescription drugs for nonprescription purposes.<\/p>\n
The potential for prescription misuse\u2039and abuse\u2039in older Americans is nothing new. In a 2007 study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy, researchers from the University of Maryland\u00b9s School of Pharmacy in Baltimore found that one in four older adults had exposure to prescription medications with \u00b3abuse potential.\u00b2<\/p>\n
\u00b3Most are painkillers,\u00b2 says Linda Simoni-Wastila, a professor and lead author of that research. \u00b3And a lot of it starts out as appropriate. Older folks don\u00b9t usually run out and say, \u0152I\u00b9m going to be a recreational user.\u00b9 But they have lower back pain, they can\u00b9t sleep, so their doctor continues to prescribe the drugs\u2039and they get hooked.\u00b2<\/p>\n
She adds that she\u00b9s not surprised by the new SAMHSA research. She theorizes that in addition to old habits\u2039the Woodstock generation holding on to its pot-smoking habit of yesteryear\u2039there is also new, growing acceptance and use of medical marijuana.<\/p>\n
Although alcohol use was not included in the national survey, Simoni-Wastila says it should be. \u00b3When psychoactive drugs are [used or] abused in combination with alcohol, it can cause a lot of problems. These drugs should not be used in combination with each other\u2039or with alcohol.\u00b2<\/p>\n
Sid Kirchheimer writes about consumer and health issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Report says marijuana is used by nearly half of older drug users An estimated 4.3 million Americans age 50 and older\u2039roughly one out of every 20 in that age group\u2039have used at least one drug illicitly within the past year, according to a government report released today that offers an intriguing snapshot of aging Americans […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,263],"tags":[325,139,161,968,101,358,205,26,189,30,969,142,160],"class_list":["post-1204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-hemp-and-ganja","tag-alzheimers-disease","tag-cannabis","tag-drugs","tag-elderly","tag-fda","tag-health-stuff-you-need-to-know","tag-hemp","tag-marijuana","tag-medical-marijuana","tag-medicine","tag-older-americans","tag-pot","tag-prohibition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.majik.org\/cruxenrose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.majik.org\/cruxenrose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.majik.org\/cruxenrose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.majik.org\/cruxenrose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.majik.org\/cruxenrose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1204"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.majik.org\/cruxenrose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1205,"href":"https:\/\/www.majik.org\/cruxenrose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204\/revisions\/1205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.majik.org\/cruxenrose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.majik.org\/cruxenrose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.majik.org\/cruxenrose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}