and cocaine) tends to be lower in the 55 and older age category, this pattern could be indicative of a cohort effect, where younger Canadians have had greater exposure to some of these drugs — meaning increasing prevalence of use in older adults will likely be seen in the decades to come as the younger cohort ages. The possibility of a cohort effect is particularly important as it relates to the legalization of cannabis. While the current data suggest a possible cohort effect, a period effect might also occur. A period effect occurs when an event (in this case, cannabis legalization) affects people of all ages when it occurs; in contrast, a cohort effect affects just one generation, with the effect moving from one age group to the next as that generation grows older.
The Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health has recently received funding to create guidelines for older adults related to four substances (alcohol, benzodiazepines, cannabis and opioids). These guidelines were released in 2018 and include specific recommendations for low-risk drinking as well.
The Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine published a study recently on Marijuana Use Among Adults 50 Years or Older in the 21st Century. This review summarized the peer-reviewed published literature on marijuana use in the older adult population 50 years or older, including the prevalence of marijuana use, patterns of marijuana use, and correlates of marijuana use. What the study found was that the greatest increase in marijuana use was observed among those in the older adult population 50 years or older, and those 65 years or older had the greatest increase in marijuana use among all older users. A larger proportion of adults in the older adult population used marijuana medicinally in contrast to recreational use. The majority of older marijuana users reported no efforts to decrease marijuana use.
According to a recent study conducted by the Dent Neurologic Institute in Amherst, NY, the use of cannabis has lead to a reduction in opioid use among elderly adults, in addition to reporting less pain! A total of 204 elderly patients over 75 years old, had been prescribed medical cannabis for pain, and 70%
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