Older people are using cannabis more and more, but talking about it with their doctors less and less.
A new study by researchers at Rutgers Health finds that fewer than one in five adults older than 65 discusses their cannabis use with their doctors. Meanwhile more than 10% of people over 65 report using cannabis in the past year.
Pia Mauro of Rutgers Health was the lead author of the study. She said people can learn a lot by talking about this with their doctor:
“People might have questions about whether they could use cannabis to help manage some symptoms, for example in the context of chronic pain,” she said.
The data showed even lower rates of cannabis use screenings and discussions among older women and older Hispanic or Latino people.
Researchers said these findings could be attributed to less frequent use of cannabis by women and systemic barriers facing marginalized populations.
Why study the elderly?
“We focused on this age group because cannabis use is increasing among older adults and actually it’s the highest it’s been in this age group,” said Mauro.
Only one in three older adults in the study reported being screened for cannabis or drug use by a clinician in the past year. Mauro said this could be dangerous.
“Older adults are more likely to have chronic health conditions for which they may take multiple medications and older adults are also at higher risk of harmful effects related to substance use,” said Mauro, “so discussing cannabis with a clinician could help answer questions that folks may have about their health.”