{"id":18417,"date":"2018-09-10T10:33:16","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T16:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=18417"},"modified":"2026-04-02T15:25:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T21:25:47","slug":"is-marijuana-safe-for-older-adults","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/is-marijuana-safe-for-older-adults\/","title":{"rendered":"Is marijuana safe for older adults?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"photo
Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among the fastest-growing users of marijuana in Colorado are adults, ages 65 and older.<\/p>\n

Doctors and public health experts can\u2019t promise older adults that marijuana is safe or effective. Even so, many patients are giving it a try for a range of issues from pain to depression to poor sleep.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get 90-year-olds who come in and say, \u2018Do you think I should try marijuana? My daughter said I should,\u2019\u201d said Dr. Gretchen Orosz<\/a>, an internal medicine doctor with a specialty in geriatrics. She practices at the UCHealth Seniors Clinic at the Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s surprising how many older adults, who never used marijuana back in the 60s or who smoked a little back in school, are open to using it for medicinal purposes,\u201d Orosz said. \u201cWe\u2019re getting more people being open about it and inquiring about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when they ask, \u201cIs marijuana safe for older adults?\u201d doctors and pharmaceutical experts have few answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big unknown. We just don\u2019t have studies that support the use,\u201d Orosz said. \u201cWe know that THC (tetrahydrocannabinoal) is psychoactive and the aging brain is more vulnerable to psychoactive drugs. So we tell our patients that they have to be very careful when using THC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marijuana use on the rise among Colorado adults \u2013 young and old<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In 2014, only about 3 percent of older Coloradans reported that they had used marijuana over the previous 30 days, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment\u2019s<\/a> annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey.<\/p>\n

By 2017, the survey found that use among adults ages 65 and over had nearly doubled to 5.6 percent.<\/p>\n

\"An
The UCHealth Seniors Clinic at the Anschutz Medical Campus serves patients who are 75 and older. Photo by UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The percentage of older adults who say they\u2019re using marijuana is far lower than comparable figures among young adults. In 2017, about 29 percent of 18-to-25-year-olds reported using weed in the previous month. And use among adults ages 26-to-34 is growing fast. From 2016 to 2017, marijuana use jumped from 19.4 percent to 26.4 percent among 26-to-34-year-olds.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a significant increase, said Mike Van Dyke, Chief of Toxicology for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. He said the annual health survey is also showing increases in Colorado adults who use marijuana on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

Since Colorado legalized marijuana for both recreational and medical use, stigma has decreased, and that could be one reason that reports of marijuana use are on the rise.<\/p>\n

Like doctors, public health experts also have concerns about safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are definitely some adverse effects of marijuana and the adverse effects in older adults are under-studied,\u201d Van Dyke said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know a lot about how marijuana use might increase risks for falls and balance problems. There are also concerns about people with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions. It just hasn\u2019t been studied enough.<\/p>\n

Hardly a ganja grandmother<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Arlene Galchinsky, 78, is one of the older people who has given marijuana a try. She\u2019s a patient at the UCHealth Seniors Clinic<\/a>, and has coped for decades with chronic pain.<\/p>\n

Back when she was in her 30s, she had to have back surgery for the first time. Since then, she\u2019s had three more spine surgeries. And for the last 10 years, she had been using an opioid medication and was eager to try an alternative.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy spine is a train wreck and I have terrible arthritis,\u201d said Galchinsky, who has two grown children and four grandchildren.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of pain and I\u2019m not allowed to take anti-inflammatories (like ibuprofen). I was on Vicodin for a long time, but it stopped working, so my only alternative was marijuana,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Hardly a ganja grandmother, Galchinsky never smoked marijuana in her youth.<\/p>\n

Seeking a medical alternative, she soon found herself in a world that felt totally foreign, and to her, a bit \u201csleazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a mess out there. The whole marijuana situation is ridiculous,\u201d Galchinsky said.<\/p>\n

Little advice for older adults in marijuana stores<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Her husband, an 80-year old\u00a0retired\u00a0judge named Herb Galchinsky, tried to help her navigate the system.\u00a0 First, they had to pay $90 and find a facility where they could get\u00a0an application for a\u00a0medical marijuana card for Arlene and a quick check up by the in-house doctor. Then they headed out to stores that they found both mystifying and\u00a0perplexing\u00a0to an older clientele.<\/p>\n

In medical marijuana stores, Herb could not go in with his wife where medical marijuana was sold.\u00a0 Once inside, Arlene found young \u201cbudtenders\u201d who knew little about what form of marijuana might help an older woman coping with pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t\u00a0get any advice about\u00a0what I should take.\u00a0Should I take drops or edibles?\u00a0\u00a0What should I do?\u00a0 So, I started with the drops, but because of my pain levels, I had to take so much that it would\u00a0be very expensive and not that effective,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The first time Galchinsky tried marijuana,\u00a0she trusted the advice of a young person working in a store that a friend had recommended. The clerk sold her marijuana with equal parts THC, the component that makes people high, and cannabidiol or CBD, the chemical believed to reduce inflammation.<\/p>\n

Glachinsky inadvertently did a number on herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got so high. It was awful. I was having all kinds of hallucinations. My poor husband was freaked out. We got home and it was worse and worse. We called 911. I didn\u2019t know if you could overdose,\u201d Galchinsky said.<\/p>\n

Paramedics came right away because Galchinsky also was still taking Vicodin and they were concerned about drug interactions. Fortunately, she was able to sleep off her bad trip and later called her doctor for help.<\/p>\n

Avoid marijuana with high levels of THC<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Galchinsky sought help from her primary care provider, Dr. Rebecca Boxer.<\/p>\n

While UCHealth doctors do not prescribe marijuana, it\u2019s important for them to know if their patients are using it. So, Boxer connected Galchinsky with Danielle Fixen, a pharmacist who works in the Seniors Clinic<\/a> and is also an assistant professor<\/a> for the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science<\/a>s<\/u>.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot
Danielle Fixen, a pharmacist at the UCHealth Seniors Clinic at the Anschutz Medical Campus, has had to learn more about marijuana safety as more older adults have asked about using it. Photo by Patrick Campbell\/University of Colorado.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As more patients have begun asking about marijuana use, Fixen has had to educate herself on drug interactions and how marijuana might affect older patients. After three years of working with older patients and researching the issue, Fixen\u2019s key advice is that if seniors are going to use marijuana, they should look for forms that contain a higher CBD component, as it does not have psychoactive properties like THC.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Fixen recommended to Galchinsky. Now, she is no longer taking any Vicodin and she has found some relief by using marijuana occasionally when her back pain flares up.<\/p>\n

After extensive research and shopping around, Galchinsky and her husband found an edible that seems to work best for her. It\u2019s a black cherry gummy edible that has a 10-to-1 CBD to THC ratio.<\/p>\n

Galchinsky said the edibles can be expensive. She pays about $4 per edible and takes one at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI only take (marijuana) when I have a lot of pain. It doesn\u2019t work for that long. But it works for a couple of hours and it\u2019s the last thing I can take,\u201d Galchinsky said.<\/p>\n

Fixen followed up with Galchinsky regularly to see how she\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been absolutely amazing. She called me every four or five days. She is something else,\u201d Galchinsky said of Fixen.<\/p>\n

Among patients who are using marijuana, Fixen has found that those who are avoiding high-THC doses seem to be doing well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t feel dizzy. They\u2019re not euphoric (like they\u2019re high) and they feel it adequately controlled their pain,\u201d Fixen said.<\/p>\n

Survey of older patients: 16 percent using marijuana<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Because so many older adults have come to the Seniors Clinic asking about marijuana, Fixen and Orosz teamed up to do a study on marijuana use among patients. Their research is expected to be published later this year in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.<\/p>\n

The clinic serves patients ages 75 and older.<\/p>\n

The women created an anonymous survey and asked patients to fill it out late in 2016 and early in 2017. They found that a relatively large percentage of patients had used marijuana at least once in their lives: one-third of the 345 respondents.<\/p>\n

Among their other findings:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • About 16 percent of patients reported that they were current users of marijuana.<\/li>\n
  • About 16 percent also reported that they had experienced a side effect from marijuana, including loss of balance, dizziness, a \u201cstrange feeling,\u201d blurred vision, dry mouth or anxiety. One respondent clearly got high and wrote \u201cI couldn\u2019t even read the newspaper.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • Patients said they were using marijuana for a variety of reasons including pain and sleep problems, but also for anxiety and depression. Of current users, 64 percent cited pain, while 34 percent said they needed help sleeping, 24 percent cited anxiety, 22 percent were coping with depression and 18 percent said they were boosting their appetite. About 9 percent were using marijuana for Parkinson\u2019s and 7 percent for seizures.<\/li>\n
  • While medical providers warn that marijuana can cause anxiety and depression, 100 percent of patients using it for anxiety and 92 percent of those seeking help for depression said the marijuana was helpful.<\/li>\n
  • Of those struggling to sleep, 86 percent said marijuana was helpful. For those with pain, 83 percent said marijuana was helping.<\/li>\n
  • Those with migraines, Parkinson\u2019s and glaucoma said the marijuana was least helpful.<\/li>\n
  • The most common form of marijuana that patients used was edibles, the choice of 42 percent of current users, followed closely by smoking and lotions. Nearly 30 percent of respondents said they were smoking marijuana while 27 percent used lotions and fewer than 4 percent were vaping.<\/li>\n
  • About one-third of those using marijuana reported daily use while 12 percent said they use marijuana at least once a week and 38 percent reported using marijuana once a month or less.<\/li>\n
  • Among the current users, most were white women in their 70s. (The clinic serves patients who are 75 and older and thus they didn\u2019t survey patients ages 65 to 74.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Anecdotally, Fixen, Orosz and other providers say more patients are asking about marijuana.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe have definitely seen an increase,\u201d Fixen said. \u201cI used to get one question about marijuana every one or two months. Now I get about one a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Marijuana can conflict with older drugs older patients use<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    As for safety, Fixen warns patients about THC.<\/p>\n

    \u201cTHC is definitely addictive,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t think THC alone is safe for older adults. CBD is a lot safer and has been shown to be effective for young people as an anti-inflammatory for arthritis. It also seems to be effective for some other types of pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \"Daniell
    Danielle Fixen is a pharmacist who works at the UCHealth Seniors Clinic at the Anschutz Medical Campus. More and more older adults are asking about marijuana use, so Fixen has had to learn about it. Here she poses at the top of one of Colorado’s 14ers, Mount Princeton. Photo courtesy of Danielle Fixen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Fixen said marijuana can also interfere with blood thinners like Warfarin, also known as Coumadin. And, smoking marijuana can harmful to patients with lung disease.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI don\u2019t recommend smoking, especially in older adults,\u201d Fixen said.<\/p>\n

    Older adults, in general, have a slower metabolism and that means that it can take their bodies longer to process and excrete all drugs, including marijuana.<\/p>\n

    If a patient says they want to use marijuana, Fixen urges them to \u201cstart low and go slow,\u201d meaning they should use very little at first and be cautious when trying it.<\/p>\n

    She said more information and much better studies of marijuana use in older adults would be tremendously helpful.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe need to acknowledge that people are using it and be open and non-judgmental,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

    She also hopes that there will soon be a way to document marijuana use along with other drugs in patients\u2019 medical records. At the moment, providers can only document marijuana use in a patient\u2019s history. Because it doesn\u2019t come up as a drug, conflicts with prescribed medications don\u2019t automatically come up.<\/p>\n

    Patients are curious as doctors search for answers <\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Orosz, who teamed up with Fixen to survey patients, has only been in Colorado for a little over two years. Previously, she practiced medicine in Arkansas and prior to that in New York.<\/p>\n

    She said attitudes among older adults about marijuana use are strikingly different in Colorado than in the South.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWithin my first week, I had a patient who had a lot of nausea from renal failure and he wanted to know if it\u2019s OK to use a foil packet. It was a THC patch. And I thought, \u2018Welcome to Colorado.\u2019 I think I have to learn more than my limited knowledge about smoking weed,\u201d Orosz said.<\/p>\n

    In previous years, doctors had to encourage patients to be honest about their use of non-prescription drugs and herbal remedies.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI had to pry it out of them. Now, they\u2019re soliciting my opinion,\u201d Orosz said.<\/p>\n

    When asked, is marijuana safe for older adults, Orosz steers patients to low THC products, but she wishes she had better research to support advice she gives.<\/p>\n

    \u201cCBD is known to potentially anti-inflammatory properties. But, since marijuana is not federally recognized as legal, getting grant support for research is pretty impossible,\u201d Orosz said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know how much is a placebo effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Currently researchers can only study limited forms of marijuana produced at government labs.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt would be more interesting to study what\u2019s out there and patients are actually using,\u201d Orosz said.<\/p>\n

    She has some patients suffering from pain who do not want to use opioids.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThey\u2019re afraid of getting addicted. Some had used opioids earlier or relied on them chronically and want to reduce that use. There are not as many patients on opioids as you would see in a younger chronic pain population. We worry about side-effects, so we don\u2019t start out giving opioids,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

    In addition, older adults cope with different kinds of pain depending on varying illnesses.<\/p>\n

    \u201cCancer pain is different than nerve pain,\u201d Orosz said.<\/p>\n

    In the past, Orosz\u2019 research has focused more on health literacy and how providers can communicate effectively with older patients. She has no desire to become known as \u201cthe pot doc,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

    Nonetheless, Orosz, Fixen and others in the Seniors Clinic are considering follow-up research.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThere are some interesting questions. Could we do more in-depth focus groups to get more information on how patients are using marijuana? Our next step is to look at providers in internal medicine to learn what their perspectives about marijuana are, what questions their getting asked and what advice they\u2019re giving to patients,\u201d Orosz said.<\/p>\n

    Older adults want more information<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    As for Galchinsky, she uses marijuana sparingly, both because it\u2019s expensive and because she doesn\u2019t want to become reliant on another drug, as she was with Vicodin.<\/p>\n

    She\u2019s very careful about what she buys because she has no desire to get high again.<\/p>\n

    \u201cNever. Oh my God. It was very disorienting,\u201d Galchinsky said.<\/p>\n

    She and her husband both continue to work and love spending time with their family. Along with marijuana, Galchinsky also uses exercise to reduce her back pain.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI do Pilates, massage and physical therapy. I\u2019ve been doing those things for years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

    Galchinsky thinks both the marijuana industry and government regulators have done a poor job of providing practical, straightforward information that\u2019s helpful to older adults.<\/p>\n

    She still remembers the first time she went into a marijuana store.<\/p>\n

    \u201cMy heart was pounding. They had no clue how to deal with older people. They\u2019re all young kids. They know about getting people high and they\u2019re happy to talk about it. But they didn\u2019t know how to talk about what I needed. I had to go all over the place,\u201d Galchinsky said.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI just think there needs to be an instruction booklet for seniors talking about marijuana and how they can go through the process. It\u2019s really hard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe\u2019re at an age where we\u2019re really looking for help.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Among the fastest-growing users of marijuana in Colorado are adults, ages 65 and older. Doctors and public health experts can\u2019t promise older adults that marijuana is safe or effective. Even so, many patients are giving it a try for a range of issues from pain to depression to poor sleep. \u201cI get 90-year-olds who come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2123,"featured_media":20417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[708,2231,1163,351,9171,4698],"class_list":["post-18417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-adults-65-plus","tag-marijuana","tag-opioids","tag-primary-care","tag-senior-care","tag-vaping"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs marijuana safe for older adults? - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Among the fastest growing users of marijuana in Colorado are adults ages 65 & older. 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