Baby boomers in California who turn to cannabis for chronic pain relief are ending up in emergency departments after discovering that today's product bears little resemblance to what they used decades ago.
What's striking, though, is that the state's decision to legalise recreational use in 2016 does not appear to have made the problem worse.
A new study from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that cannabis-related emergency department visits among adults aged 65 and older climbed by 1,808% between 2005 and 2019.
Figures from the Department of Healthcare Access and Information show those ED visits jumped from 366 in 2005 to 12,167 just fourteen years later.
Lead author and geriatrician Benjamin Han said many older patients approach cannabis without concern about side effects because they don't treat it with the same seriousness they would a prescribed medication.
He added that some are also given a false sense of security by memories of past use — a time when both their bodies were hardier and the cannabis itself was far less potent.
"I do see a lot of older adults who are overly confident, saying they know how to handle it," Han said. "Yet as they have gotten older, their bodies are more sensitive, and the concentrations are very different from what they may have tried when they were younger.
"Although cannabis may be helpful for some chronic symptoms, it is important to weigh that potential benefit with the risk, including ending up in an emergency department," he warned.
Cannabis consumption among older Americans — whether for social purposes or to manage specific health conditions — has grown considerably as states across the country have moved to legalise the drug for both medicinal and recreational use.
California approved medicinal cannabis in 1996, followed by recreational use in 2016.
The study's authors noted that while ED visits rose sharply between 2013 and 2017, the rate plateaued after the Adult Use of Marijuana Act came into effect.
"The availability of recreational cannabis does not appear to correlate with a higher rate of cannabis-related ED visits among older people," they said.
