Marijuana Moment: More Older Adults Are Using Marijuana As An Alternative To Pharmaceuticals, Federally Funded Study From American Medical Association Shows

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Most older adults who seek out marijuana do so to avoid negative effects associated with traditional pharmaceuticals or because they’ve exhausted other options to treat conditions like pain or sleep disorders, according to a new federally funded study released by the American Medical Association (AMA).

The study, published in JAMA Network Open on Friday, examined the motivations that have driven older adults to become the fastest-growing demographic of cannabis consumers in the U.S. Researchers at the University of Utah Health and the University of Colorado Boulder also looked at product preferences among older adults who expressed interest in experimenting with marijuana.

For the community-based, qualitative study—which was supported by funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—researchers interviewed 169 adults aged 60 or older who were “seeking relief from age-related ailments (eg, pain or difficulty sleeping) and improved quality of life.”

While the underlying trend of seniors increasingly turning to marijuana has been widely reported, “little is known about the motivations and factors that influence their use of edible cannabis and product choice,” the study authors said.

“The findings of this study suggest that older adults are increasingly turning to cannabis for symptom management.”

The interviews analyzed for the study—which took place from November 2021 to November 2023 as part of a broader clinical trial—offer preliminary answers to the question about motivations.

“Many participants described a reluctance in using traditional pharmaceutical treatments,” the study authors said. “Notably, they had concerns about adverse effects, long-term health risks, or dependency associated with pharmaceutical medications and viewed cannabis as a safer alternative.”

“Participants also reported that they had exhausted all pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic options (eg, therapy, acupuncture, or massage) for symptom management so they desired to try cannabis as a last resort,” they said. “Some participants who were experiencing substantial physical and mental health burdens sought to use cannabis to address their new or escalating symptoms related to pain, sleep disturbances, or mood changes.”

“Older adults were motivated to use cannabis as an alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals due to concerns about adverse effects and ineffectiveness of medications they have tried previously.”

Other older patients said they were motivated to try cannabis because they heard about the benefits “through personal networks, medical talks, and media sources.” A cohort of interviewees said they wanted to give marijuana a try “for recreational use such as for getting high or to improve social gatherings with friends and activities,” while others reported using it as an alternative to intoxicants such as alcohol.

“Overall, they really wanted better quality of life, reducing their pain, getting better sleep, and being able to enjoy time with family and friends a little bit more,” Rebecca Delaney, assistant professor of population health sciences at University of Utah Health who co-authored the study, said in a press release.

“Across all motivations, older adults were most likely to choose a combination cannabis product, but distributions of motivations differed by the product participants intended to purchase,” the authors said in the AMA-published paper.

As far as product preferences are concerned, 58 percent of older adults chose edibles with a combination of THC and non-intoxicating CBD, compared to 29 percent who selected a CBD-dominant product and 14 percent who went for a THC-dominant edible.

Interestingly, the most “common drawback” of cannabis with a combination of THC and CBD (or THC-dominant products) cited by the participants was “concern about getting high or being impaired.” For CBD products, the biggest concern was about the perception of “limited efficacy.”

The study—which received funding from the National Institute of Aging under NIH—also found that the most common health conditions older adults wanted to use cannabis for were sleep (57 percent), pain (50 percent) and mental health (25 percent).

“Older adults were motivated to use cannabis as an alternative approach to address health concerns.”

“For the most part, we found that these folks aren’t really interested in getting high. They just want to feel better,” Angela Bryan, senior author of the study, said.

The study concludes by reiterating that “as cannabis legalization becomes more widespread, older adults are increasingly turning to it not just for recreational use, but to manage symptoms associated with aging, including pain, sleep disturbances, and mental health concerns.”

“In the absence of medical consultation, they face numerous decisions without clear information about what product can best address their needs,” it said.

“With the most common product profile selected being a combination of CBD and THC, expanding research to identify the potential benefits and harms of this treatment option may help inform clinical guidance. Future efforts should focus on equipping practitioners with practical tools and creating accessible patient resources to ensure older adults can make informed choices about edible cannabis products as part of their care.”

“The ultimate goal is to develop resources to help people make decisions and find products that meet their needs, and to figure out how we can distill information to patients and physicians,” Delaney, one of the study authors, said. “We would really love to see more of these conversations happening between physicians and patients to make sure that people feel supported and informed when seeking alternative ways to address their pain.”

Meanwhile, another recent study involving more than 3,500 patients found that using medical marijuana appears to help people reduce the use of other medications, including opioids, sleeping aids and antidepressants. They also experience far fewer negative side effects after switching to cannabis from prescription drugs.

About one in three Americans who use CBD say they take it as an alternative or supplement to at least one medication—particularly painkillers—according to a federally funded study published in February.

Similarly, another recent federally funded study, published by the AMA, added more evidence that marijuana can serve as an effective substitute for opioids in chronic pain treatment.

Other AMA-published research has found that legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes is “significantly associated with reduced opioid use among patients diagnosed with cancer.”

A separate paper published in October similarly found that medical marijuana legalization is “associated with significant reductions in opioid prescribing.”

Meanwhile, earlier this year, it was reported that senior residents in Arizona independent living communities could see a different kind of care service available in their neighborhoods: Kiosks allowing them to view and buy marijuana products from licensed dispensaries.

For what it’s worth, President Donald Trump last year shared a video promoting the health benefits of cannabis—suggesting that covering CBD under Medicare would be “the most important senior health initiative of the century.”

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