As the average age creeps upward so does pot usage.
According to surveys done by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration marijuana usage by people over 50 years old increased from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent in the years 2002 to 2008. The biggest increase was reported among users 55 to 59 years old. Their usage more than tripled from 1.6 percent to 5.1 percent.
Their reasons for using are myriad. Some use it for medical purposes, legally in 14 states and not so legally in others. Some seniors, retired and with time on their hands, have returned to a method of relaxation remembered from their youth and still others have been using all along.
Medically marijuana has been shown to relieve many problems associated with the aging process: aches and pains, glaucoma, macular degeneration and various other conditions. Socially it soothes and relaxes. According to one senior, “Food tastes better, music sounds better, sex is more enjoyable.”
That’s not to say it’s without risk – especially for older users. Seniors are more likely to be at risk for falls if they become dizzy, and smoking marijuana increases the risk of heart disease and may cause cognitive impairment
As an aging American who suspects that marijuana will be found to be genuinely helpful in the relief of arthritis and other aches and pains, I find it truly sad that anyone would try to make it more difficult for someone to use marijuana for relief of pain, improvement of appetite, or any of the other valuable uses of marijuana. The tax money that is wasted on marijuana arrests, prosecution, prison, and forced “treatment” costs the U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars every year, billions that are therefore NOT available for schools, health care, fighting terrorism, repairing our roads and bridges, and a hundred other vitally important social needs. Surely no one believes that imprisoning Americans for using a plant is a better use of our limited resources than educating our children, maintaining our infrastructure, and keeping our families safe from foreign terrorists?
Let’s put the drug dealing criminals out of business and free up our tax dollars to meet America’s real needs. Let’s tax and regulate marijuana, and let’s let ordinary Americans grow a little marijuana in their own back yards, maybe $100 a year for a permit to grow a dozen plants.