For generations, the medicine cabinet was the answer. Pills for pain. Pills for sleep. Pills for anxiety. Prescriptions refilled, side effects endured, and the cycle continued.
Now, a growing number of older adults are looking elsewhere. And what they are finding is not in a pharmacy. It is in a dispensary.
Most older adults who seek out marijuana do so to avoid negative effects associated with traditional pharmaceuticals or because they have exhausted other options to treat conditions like pain or sleep disorders, according to a new federally funded study released by the American Medical Association. 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 United States.
The question is no longer whether seniors are using marijuana. They are. The question is why, and what that means for the future of pharmaceutical medicine.
The Study
For the community-based, qualitative study — which was supported by funds from the National Institutes of Health — 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 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.
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.
Why Seniors Are Switching
“Many participants described a reluctance to use 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. 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.
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 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 the University of Utah Health, who co-authored the study, said in a press release.
Product Preferences
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.
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 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). “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 Bigger Picture
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 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.”
Supporting Evidence
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.”
The Political Context
For what it is 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.”
Whether that initiative will materialize remains unclear. But the trend among seniors is undeniable. Older adults are not waiting for Washington. They are making their own choices about their health — and increasingly, those choices involve marijuana.
The Bottom Line
A new federally funded study published by the American Medical Association found that most older adults who use marijuana do so to avoid the negative effects of traditional pharmaceuticals or because they have exhausted other treatment options. Researchers interviewed 169 adults aged 60 or older who were seeking relief from age-related ailments such as pain or difficulty sleeping.
Participants cited concerns about adverse effects, long-term health risks, and dependency associated with pharmaceutical medications. They viewed cannabis as a safer alternative. The most common conditions they sought to address were sleep (57 percent), pain (50 percent), and mental health (25 percent). The majority (58 percent) chose edibles with a combination of THC and CBD.
The study concludes that as cannabis legalization becomes more widespread, older adults are increasingly turning to it to manage symptoms associated with aging. Researchers call for more conversations between physicians and patients to ensure informed decision-making.
Grandma’s new medicine is not what it used to be. And the pharmaceutical industry may need to pay attention.
