According to a new study by UC San Diego researchers, drug addicted seniors — and we’re not talking high school kids — are visiting emergency rooms for cannabis-related problems in unprecedented numbers.
According to the study conducted by the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, only 366 Californians over the age of 65 went to the emergency room in 2005 for problems related to cannabis. In 2019, that figure had skyrocketed by nearly 3,200 percent when 12,167 seniors attended the emergency room.
While a law was passed by the state way back in ’96 approving the use of medical marijuana, a second law was passed in 2003 clarifying the legislation before its use became more widespread. Recreational use of marijuana was approved by state voters in 2016. It is worth noting that the study shows that while emergency room visits increased between 2013-17, they leveled off in 2017, the year in which weed has become legally available for recreational use, so legalization does not appear to be linked to an increase in emergency room visits by older adults for cannabis-related problems.
“Many patients assume they won’t get any negative side effects from cannabis because they often don’t take it as seriously as they would a prescription drug,” said Dr. Benjamin Han, a geriatrician who authored the study. “I see a lot of older adults who are overly confident, saying they know how to handle it — yet as they get older, their bodies are more sensitive and the concentrations are very different from what they might have experienced when they were younger.”
Researchers cited “growing numbers of older adults … experimenting with cannabis to relieve chronic symptoms” as responsible, in part, for the surge in emergency room visitors. Among other reasons, geriatricians will likely be concerned about the study’s findings due to the fact that older patients “run a higher risk of adverse health effects associated with psychoactive substances,” according to a news release released by UC San Diego. this week.
Although some older users are experimenting with the drug as a component of palliative care, others are taking it recreationally, of course. Both groups — who, according to the researchers, feel their risk of regular use is decreasing — have been using marijuana in increasing numbers since 2005; both contributed to the spike in hospital trips, the researchers believe.
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The league has asked researchers across North America for ideas on how to study cannabis as a treatment option, reports NBC 7’s Derek Togerson.
“Cannabis can slow reaction times and impair attention,” says the press release, “which can lead to injuries and falls; increase the risk of psychosis, delirium and paranoia; exacerbate cardiovascular and pulmonary disease and interact with other drugs prescribed”.
The study authors would like medical professionals to normalize discussions with older patients about cannabis use and, in doing so, be careful not to bundle questions regarding its use with questions about illegal drug use. The reason: Patients may not answer truthfully.
“Instead, ask a question like, ‘Have you used cannabis — also known as marijuana — for any reason in the past 12 months?’ it would encourage older adults to respond more frankly,” said study co-author Dr Alison Moore. “Providers can then ask how often cannabis is used, for what purpose – for example in medicine for pain, sleep or anxiety or recreationally for relaxation – in what form (smoked, eaten, applied topically) and whether they know how much THC and CBD it contains.Once the supplier has this type of information, they can then educate the patient about the potential risks of use.