Trends and correlates of marijuana use among late middle-aged and older adults in the United States, 2002–2014

Abstract

Background Recent trend studies suggest that marijuana use is on the rise among the general population of adults ages 18 and older in the United States. However, little is known about the trends in marijuana use and marijuana-specific risk/protective factors among American adults during the latter part of adulthood. Method Findings are based on repeated, cross-sectional data collected from late middle-aged (ages 50–64) and older adults (ages 65 and older) surveyed as part of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health between 2002 and 2014. Results The prevalence of past-year marijuana use among late middle-aged adults increased significantly from a low of 2.95% in 2003 to a high of 9.08% in 2014. Similarly, the prevalence of marijuana use increased significantly among older adults from a low of 0.15% in 2003 to a high of 2.04% in 2014. Notably, the upward trends in marijuana use remained significant even when accounting for sociodemographic, substance use, behavioral, and health-related factors. We also found that decreases in marijuana-specific protective factors were associated with the observed trend changes in marijuana use among late middle-aged and older adults, and observed a weakening of the association between late-middle aged marijuana use and risk propensity, other illicit drug use, and criminal justice system involvement over the course of the study. Conclusions Findings from the present study provide robust evidence indicating that marijuana use among older Americans has increased markedly in recent years, with the most evident changes observed between 2008 and 2014.

Cannabis use among patients at a comprehensive cancer center in a state with legalized medicinal and recreational use

“…Self‐reported cannabis use among respondents in our study was 24% within the last year and 21% within the last month. These levels are more than double those reported in national prevalence studies, where rates vary between 1.8% and 8.3% over 1 month and between 2.8% and 12.9% over 1 year . The younger demographic drives rates in most large studies, in which nearly 20% of 18‐ to 25‐year‐olds are reported to use cannabis .…”

“…These levels are more than double those reported in national prevalence studies, where rates vary between 1.8% and 8.3% over 1 month and between 2.8% and 12.9% over 1 year. [2][3][4][21][22][23][24][25] The younger demographic drives rates in most large studies, in which nearly 20% of 18-to 25-year-olds are reported to use cannabis. 2 In contrast, those under the age of 30 years made up only 6% of our total respondents but had rates of active use of nearly 40%.…”

Characteristics and Patterns of Marijuana Use in Community‐Dwelling Older Adults

“…Nearly one‐quarter of current users were aged 85 and older, and many had a high level of education. These data are contrary to other previously published studies in which individual marijuana users tended to be male, black, and less educated …”

Older adults’ marijuana use, injuries, and emergency department visits

“…After alcohol and tobacco, marijuana is the most commonly used psychoactive substance in the United States (1). Recent epidemiological data show that marijuana use has increased significantly over the past decade among all demographic subgroups, with especially notable increases among middle-aged and older adults (2)(3)(4). A study based on the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC-III) found that 3.9% of the 50+ age group reported past-year marijuana use (5).…”