When marijuana reaches old age

For decades, the cultural image of the cannabis consumer was primarily associated with younger generations.

But that image is fading away.

Cannabis is entering another stage in its history: that of older adults.

New data from Gallup puts marijuana use in the United States at an all-time high: 17% of adults say they smoke it, a figure that more than doubles the 7% recorded when Gallup began measuring this behavior in 2013. However, the data changes considerably when we look at those over 65: 5% report smoking marijuana.

That 5% may seem small, but the trend is what's truly relevant.

An analysis published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that the percentage of adults aged 65 and older who reported cannabis use during the past month increased from 4.8% in 2021 to 7.0% in 2023.

In other words, while cannabis is becoming more socially normalized, the people who consume it are also changing.

And the reasons are not necessarily the ones we traditionally associate with marijuana.

A national University of Michigan survey of adults aged 50 and older found that those who used cannabis in the past year did so primarily to relax, sleep, enjoy its effects, and relieve pain. Mood and socialization were also cited as reasons for use.

In other words, for a portion of this population, cannabis no longer simply represents a recreational experience.

It can represent a wellness tool, a perceived alternative for managing certain symptoms, or simply another form of entertainment.

But this normalization raises questions that go far beyond the consumer.

What happens when consumption is legal, but its effects reach someone else's home?

The question ceased to be hypothetical in Washington DC

A dispute between neighbors ended up in court after a woman complained that her neighbor's cannabis smoke was seeping into her home. The man used medical cannabis and claimed it helped him with pain and sleep.

In 2023, a judge ruled that the smoking constituted a private nuisance and ordered him to stop. In 2025, the DC Court of Appeals upheld the decision.

The case raises an important distinction:

Just because an activity is legal does not mean it can be carried out without limits when it affects third parties.

And that discussion will likely become more frequent as the number of older adult consumers increases and more people live in condominiums, apartments, and shared residential communities.

There is also another conversation we cannot ignore: health.

The increase in consumption does not automatically mean that cannabis is harmful to all older adults, nor does it mean that its potential benefits are scientifically established for all conditions.

The evidence remains mixed and depends on factors such as age, dose, route of administration, medical conditions, and other medications a person may be taking.

A study published in JAMA Network Open found that, among 4,503 veterans aged 65 to 84, 10% reported cannabis use during the past 30 days; among those who used it, 36% met criteria for cannabis use disorder.

Another study found that, after the legalization of edibles in Ontario, emergency room visits for cannabis intoxication among older adults increased significantly.

This does not make cannabis an enemy or a solution.

This demonstrates that a population that was previously virtually absent from the conversation now needs specific information about how to consume cannabis, what risks exist, and how cannabis interacts with the aging process.

And the industry is already paying attention.

As older adults begin to become part of a broader cannabis market, products, campaigns, and events specifically targeting this group are emerging.

Normalization, then, is happening on two levels.

On one hand, a generation that grew up seeing cannabis as something marginal is aging and taking it with them to a new stage of life.

On the other hand, an industry that for years spoke mainly to young consumers is discovering that the future of cannabis may also have gray hair.

But perhaps the most interesting question is not who is consuming.

It's about how we're going to live with that consumption.

Because legalization solved part of the problem: it established where and under what conditions certain people can consume.

There's still one more conversation to have:

How do we protect the right of consumers without turning it into an obligation for those who do not want to consume?

Cannabis is entering its senior years.

Now society has to learn to age with him.