Study: Americans over 50 now more likely to use marijuana

(photo via Drug Policy Alliance)

America’s increase in marijuana use isn’t coming from the youth, but rather, their parents.

People over the age of 50 are now 20 times more likely to use cannabis than they were 30 years ago, according to a study published in the medical journal, “Addiction.”

Researchers William Kerr, Camillia Lui and Yu Ye of the Alcohol Research Group analyzed 30 years of medical survey data from over 40,000 U.S. adults who reported marijuana use within the past 12 months.

Only about half a percent of people between 50 and 59 admitted to using pot in 1984. The percentage of that group rose to 12 percent in 2015.

The rate of cannabis users over 60 also grew considerably to 7 percent in 2015, compared to less than half a percent in 1984.

In that same time, the percentage of American cannabis users between the ages of 18 to 29 have actually dipped sightly to 29.2 in 2015, compared to 29.9 percent in 1984.

The new findings come after a 2016 CBS News report finding that Americans ages 55 and over are the nation’s fastest growing demographic of marijuana users. Moreover, clinical data published earlier…

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