Senior citizens high on legal marijuana
(26 Mar 2019) LEADIN: As legal cannabis spreads to dozens of states in the U.S., many in their 70s and 80s are now adding marijuana to their roster of activities, like golf and bingo. Recent studies show people 65 and over are the fastest-growing segment of cannabis users. Many who used to get high in their youth, however, are now more interested in finding a cure for old-age maladies, like arthritis and sleeplessness. STORYLINE: A group of senior citizens board a bus at Laguna Woods Village, an upscale retirement community in a Southern Californian suburb, a few miles from Disneyland. They're making a quick trip to a building that, save for the green Red Cross-style sign in the window, resembles a trendy coffee bar. The people, mostly in their 70s and 80s, will pass several hours here at the Bud and Bloom dispensary enjoying a light lunch, playing a few games of bingo and selecting their next month's supply of cannabis-infused products. "We bus senior citizens from Laguna Woods to our dispensary. At our dispensary, we give them lunch. We provide them with an educational orientation, an opportunity to interact with the vendor companies, and then also they can enter the dispensary and take a tour, or they can also make a purchase if they want to," explains Kandice Hawes-Lopez, the Community Outreach Director for Bud and Bloom. "We've been doing this for about eighteen months, it's been a huge success. Every month, we have between 20 and 50 seniors, people from 55 all the way to their 90s come here to learn about how to use cannabis to replace their current medications, or even some seniors use it recreationally." Most states now have legal medical marijuana, and ten of them, including California, allow anyone 21-years-old or older to use pot recreationally. The federal government still outlaws the drug even as acceptance increases. The 2018 General Social Survey, an annual sampling of Americans' views, found a record 61 percent back legalization, and those 65 and older are increasingly supportive. Many industry officials say the fastest-growing segment of their customer base is made up of aging baby boomers or even those a little older who are seeking to treat the aches and sleeplessness and other maladies of old age with the same herb that many of them once passed around at parties. "I think the stigma will continue to decrease and that we'll see more people willing to consider it as a possibility for themselves, to be accepting of other family members that use it, not only medically, but I think that the acceptance of people using cannabis recreationally is also going to increase as well," says Hawes-Lopez. Relatively little scientific study has verified the benefits of marijuana for specific problems. There's evidence pot can relieve chronic pain in adults, according to a 2017 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, but the study also concluded that the lack of scientific information poses a risk to public health. The dispensary is filled with the 50 people from the bus as they peruse counters and coolers, containing everything from gel caps to drops to cannabis-infused drinks, not to mention plenty of old-fashioned weed. Adele Frascella, leaning on her cane, purchases a package of gummy candies she says helps keep her arthritic pain at bay. Fashionably dressed with sparkling silver earrings, Frascella confirms with a smile that she was a pot smoker in her younger days. "I used to do it when I was like 18, 19, 20, and had a baby, got married and stopped doing it," she says. "It makes me feel good," she says. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
