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Why more seniors are turning to cannabis use

By
Jim Axelrod
Jim Axelrod
Chief Correspondent and Executive Editor, "Eye on America"
Jim Axelrod is the chief correspondent and executive editor for CBS News' "Eye on America" franchise, part of the "CBS Evening News." He also reports for "CBS Mornings," "CBS News Sunday Morning," and CBS News 24/7.
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Jim Axelrod

/ CBS News

When Don Searles went to a recent party, he didn't want to show up empty-handed. So he made peanut brittle using an old family recipe — with a modern-day twist.

"We added the marijuana," he said.

The party was hosted by 74-year-old Gayle Crawley at the Trilogy retirement community an hour east of San Francisco, where lately the golf course has a new competitor for popularity.

Between 2021 and 2023, cannabis use among Americans 65 and older went up 46%, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Crawley said those numbers reflect that marijuana is a "good solution to a lot of medicinal issues." 

And with cannabis now legal in 40 states for medical use and 24 for recreational, according to the , the stigma is quickly diminishing.

Steven Clarke, another attendee at Crawley's party, said he's never smoked and prefers edibles.

When asked why he's drawn to the drug, Clarke told CBS News that "it does work on PTSD, pain issues, relaxation issues, brain disorders, heart disease." 

But some medical professionals disagree.

Matt Springer, a professor at UC San Francisco, warns that THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, may carry health risks, no matter how seniors ingest it.

"If they are smoking marijuana, we can be pretty confident that they're harming their cardiovascular system," Springer told CBS News, adding that if they're eating THC, "they're not without risk."

Other researchers found cannabis use is linked to a doubled risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a 29% higher risk for acute coronary syndrome and 20% higher risk for stroke, according to a study published in June. The authors analyzed data from 24 studies published from 2016 to 2023.

Searles, who suffers from chronic pain after a motorcycle accident five years ago, said he isn't surprised by the findings.

"I go to my doctor and he says, geez, quit drinking milk. Uh, stay away from the sugar. What isn't bad for you nowadays?" Searles said.

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