Cannabis use among persons over 50 years old continues to increase and outpace all other age groups. The rate of past-year use among persons over 50 grew from 1.1 in 2000 to 2.8% in 2010.  By 2018,  cannabis use among older Americans reached 10.3% and climbed to 10.8% in 2020 among all persons over the age of 50 and 7.1% among adults 65 years of age and older.  By 2030, as many as one of every five older Americans may be using cannabis. With such unrelenting growth, the Cannabis and Older Persons Study (COPS) seeks to advance scientific understanding about use patterns among older persons and inform policy makers, program administrators, and clinicians about the associated benefits and harms of extending legal access to cannabis.

Since 2015, the COPS has examined this unprecedented phenomenon and our research team has observed the remarkable  heterogeneity among older cannabis users as a substantive point of distinction compared with younger cannabis users. Some persons over 50 years old have been using cannabis for longer than most younger users have been alive, offering researchers an unprecedented opportunity to consider life course effects. Other older adults use cannabis only as a therapeutic alternative for diagnosable medical conditions (e.g., glaucoma), symptoms (e.g., pain) and palliation at the end of life.

Still, several important research questions remain unanswered. What long-term benefits do older adults experience in taking cannabis? Does taking cannabis lead to misuse of other substances or increase emergency department use? Can cannabis serve as a prevention or harm reduction strategy relative to prescription opioids?

Our goal is to continue illuminating the intersection between America’s aging population and cannabis, and pursue a research program organized by the central hypothesis that cannabis use among older persons is shaped by individual attitudes, interpersonal relationships, contextual conditions and public policy, and older adults who use cannabis may experience both harms and benefits. 

If you would like to learn more about our work, contact brian-kaskie@uiowa.edu.