Senior’ s Cannabis for Wellness Class Coming to St. Louis.
Senior Wellness ~
Reaching Our Oldest Adults through Cannabis Education
Senior’ s Cannabis for Wellness Class Coming to St. Louis.
by Sara Figueroa, Contributing Writer
Cannabis use is increasing among older adults. In 2025, NYU School of Global Public Health found that people over the age of 65 are the fastest-growing group of new cannabis users. Their analysis found that cannabis use by adults aged 65 and over is now 7 % and growing.
People over the age of 60 are using cannabis for relaxation, mood, chronic pain, insomnia, appetite, and libido— for much the same reasons that most adults enjoy cannabis. According to AARP, 1 while most people this age like cannabis for its wellness benefits, they also enjoy cannabis when connecting with others and celebrating.
In the United States, most adults have access to some form of legal cannabis. With this access comes a variety of available delivery methods that allow people to customize their cannabis experience but also creates more confusion about which types of products work best for an individual. Usually, canna-curious patients are advised to talk to their doctor.
Lack of Cannabis Education for Medical Professionals
Unfortunately, despite widespread access to cannabis products of varying potencies, most healthcare providers have zero knowledge of how the endocannabinoid system( ECS) functions and how phytocannabinoids interact with the ECS. Despite three decades of legal medical marijuana access in the United States, cannabis training is still not included in any medical school.
Additionally, studies are often retrospective, in which authors gather data only from the past. Retrospective also means that cannabis use is self-reported and includes any type of cannabis— so-called black market, gas station hemp, anything claiming to contain marijuana, cannabis, or THC. While this type of analysis can be helpful in identifying anomalies that might require further research, retrospective studies are also inconsistent with data collection methods and unreliable patient reporting. The benefit of these types of studies is that they are cost-effective and quick to complete, but they should never be accepted as rigorous research. Hopefully, more legal pathways for research will direct proper funding and attention toward discovering the safest and most effective way to use medical cannabis.
Modern Elder Expo Phoenix, AZ.
In December 2025, I had the opportunity to attend the first Modern Elder Expo in Phoenix, AZ. Life is Chill, an Arizonabased cannabis product company specializing in precision-dosed THC soft gels, sponsored the event, which hoped to provide access to medical cannabis education on a larger platform. A crowd of mostly older adult attendees spent a day learning about medical cannabis via speakers, interactive theme rooms, and vendor experiences. Emphasizing empowerment through cannabis wellness education, the expo’ s themes focused on helping adults make informed decisions for their health and helping seniors feel relevant. In 2025, the Journal of the American Medical Association( JAMA) assembled a panel of physicians who developed a long-overdue list of core competencies for future medical students to acquire regarding medical cannabis methodologies. The panel addressed the fact that medical cannabis has been legal since 1996 in California. Yet, there is still no formal medical school training for advising patients on cannabis use or misuse. 2
Misleading and Confusing Information
Physicians cannot be entirely blamed for their complete ignorance of medical cannabis. Even if a healthcare provider is willing to seek out reliable information about cannabis, they encounter what many people find— sensational media about a singular, small, shoddy study. Often,“ studies” are articles posing as research that retrospectively combine the use of non-regulated products with state-regulated legal cannabis and thus commingle the negative effects.
Analysis also does not differentiate between cannabis alone and cannabis combined with other substances such as alcohol, OTC drugs, and pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Sue Sisley, MD, a cannabis researcher in Scottsdale, AZ, spoke about how the federal prohibition of cannabis makes conducting research on the effects of commercial-grade cannabis excessively complicated. She successfully sued the federal government for the legal ability to maintain a commercial cannabis grow for her research institute.
Continued on page 30 ►
20 February 2026