Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at cannabis use and cognition in older adults, an uptick in cannabis research, the rise of cannabis lounges, the changing dispensary experience and much more. Enjoy.
Cannabis and Cognition
Top Takeaway: Older adults with a history of cannabis use exhibit “statistically significant less cognitive decline compared to non-users.”
There may be good news for older adults who have used cannabis in the past and for those who continue to use cannabis. According to a study published in the journal Age and Aging, older adults with a history of cannabis use exhibit superior cognitive performance and slower age-related declines in executive function.
To conduct the study, a team of Israeli researchers affiliated with the School of Public Health of the University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel, assessed cognitive performance in a cohort of 67, 713 adults. The mean age of the group was 67 years old and males made up 46.1 percent of the cohort.
Cross-sectional and longitudinal data for the study were drawn from the UK Biobank. The UK Biobank is described as the world’s most comprehensive dataset of biological, health and lifestyle information. Cannabis use patterns were self-reported, and cognitive function was assessed via computerized tests.
The research team noted that lifetime cannabis users, which constituted 17 percent of the group, performed better across all cognitive domains, including attention , executive function , processing speed , visual and working memory. Current use was associated with better working memory.
The authors also noted that separate longitudinal data published last year similarly concluded that older adults with a history of cannabis use exhibit “statistically significant less cognitive decline compared to non-users.”
Characteristics of Various Cognitive Functions
The study measured the impact of cannabis use on several specific cognitive functions.
• The attention function speaks to an individual’s ability to select and focus on relevant information while eliminating distractions.
• Working memory involves the ability to manipulate the information needed for reasoning, learning, problem solving and having a conversation.
• Visual memory is a crucial cognitive skill for daily tasks, such as recognizing faces, navigating your environment, and learning. It can be divided into two main types: short-term (remembering something you just saw) and long-term (recalling things from the past).
• Executive function involves mental activity that helps an individual plan, focus, remember instructions and achieve goals. Key skills involved with this function include working memory, self-control (inhibition), and mental flexibility, which allows a person to manage impulses, prioritize, start tasks, and adapt to changes.
Key Findings
Wrote the researchers in their journal article, “Findings from our cross-sectional analyses show that participants with cannabis use experience performed better across all cognitive assessments compared to those without. These associations were primarily driven by participants with former use experience, while current use experience showed a more limited association, reaching significance only for working memory tasks. Similarly, our longitudinal analysis demonstrated a slower cognitive decline among former users, with no significant associations observed for current users.”
Based on their findings, the study’s authors concluded: “While cognitive harms are often assumed among older cannabis users, our results suggest a more nuanced picture. These findings may support balanced messaging that informs decisions, reduces age-related cannabis stigma and promotes clinician–patient dialogue on therapeutic cannabis.”
To read an abstract of the study, which appeared in the November 4, 2025 issue of the journal Age and Aging, click on the following link.
https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article/54/11/afaf319/8313927?
Notable Numbers
Top Takeaway: In 2025 researchers worldwide published more than 4,000 scientific papers related to marijuana.
This week’s notable number is 4,000. According to a new analysis by the advocacy group NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), in 2025 researchers worldwide published more than 4,000 scientific papers related to marijuana — a useful number the next time your neighbor says, “there just hasn’t been enough research on that pot stuff.”
Analysts at NORML noted this also marks the fifth year in a row researchers conducted over 4,000 studies. As a result, there are now over 53,000 cannabis studies in the NIH database.
NORML’s blog post acknowledges, there has been a dramatic increase in scientific inquiries about the cannabis plant over the past decade — with researchers publishing more than 37,000 scientific papers about cannabis since the beginning of 2015. Much of this increase, it believes, is a result of researchers’ newfound interest in marijuana’s therapeutic qualities, as well as investigations into the real-world effects of legalization laws.
Said NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano, “Despite the perception that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in the past decade, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society. It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.”
The post also points out that while there are scientific inquiries into the actions of cannabis that date back to the 1840s, more than 70 percent of all peer-reviewed scientific papers about marijuana have been published in the past ten years, and over 90 percent of this literature has been published since 2002.
You can learn more by reading the article that was published on NORML’s website on December 3, 2025. Just click on the link that follows.
The Shape of Things to Come
Top Takeaway: Consumption lounges may become the next “big thing” in the cannabis sector.
If you would like to enjoy a cannabis experience in a sophisticated public setting, you may be part of the next big trend in cannabis consumption.
That’s the word from Margaret Jackson, reporting for MJBizDaily. She writes that cannabis consumption lounges are redefining hospitality and, according to at least one industry expert, may be the next big trend in the sector.
According to Dale Sky Jones, chancellor of Oakland, California-based cannabis education institution Oaksterdam University, lounges are “the most exciting frontier for the cannabis industry.”
However, as Jackson notes, running a successful lounge requires more than dim lights, soft music and sophisticated decor. It also demands a mastery of compliance regulations, safety concerns and customer education — and that’s just for starters.
Said Jones, “Hospitality is about reducing friction and creating a flow that feels natural. Whether it’s the layout of a buffet or educating customers about dosing and onset times, every element contributes to the overall experience.”
That, according to Jones, requires thoughtful environmental design, seamless operations and specialized staff training to ensure the lounge is not only compliant with local regulations but also provides patrons with a memorable and enjoyable experience.
Jackson makes the point that Jones believes that staff training is key, especially when it comes to recognizing signs of overconsumption and managing customers who may be naive when it comes to cannabis.
Said Jones, “Most people don’t know their tolerance, and that’s where education and safety come in. Bars have alcohol management techniques, and we need that for cannabis. We need staff to handle these situations, provide spaces for patrons to rest and hydrate and ensure everyone has a positive experience.”
In her article, Jackson notes that consumption lounges offer opportunities for businesses that are willing to innovate and experiment with things such as comedy nights and music venues and dual-use spaces. However, as she points out, the challenges are significant. For example compliance can be a major hurdle, with state and local regulations often treating cannabis differently than alcohol.
The key, Jones told Jackson, is education. Said Jones, “We need to educate not just consumers but also city councils, state governments and regulators to ensure these models are allowed and supported.”
Jones also sees consumption lounges as a way to elevate cannabis brands and create new business models. “The brands that succeed will be the ones that focus on lifestyle and experience,” she said. “You can’t take cannabis across state lines, but you can take the experience.”
As always, Magaret Jackson’s reporting illuminates a timely and complicated issue in the cannabis sector. To learn more, we urge you to read her article in the December 5, 2025 issue of MJBizDaily.com.
https://mjbizdaily.com/are-consumption-lounges-the-next-frontier-for-legal-cannabis/
Consumer Corner
Top Takeaway: The dispensary experience is changing and analysts have identified five distinct shopper archetypes shaping today’s cannabis sector.
Recently, a firm called NX Teck shared an analysis of how dispensaries and the consumers who shop there are changing with the folks at New Frontier Data. Here are some of their key findings.
Consumer Archetypes
After examining millions of dispensary visits across the U.S., analysts at NXTeck identified five distinct shopper archetypes shaping today’s retail environment:
Efficient Loyalist: High repeat rate, low cross-shop visits
Experience Buyer: Long dwell time, multi-shop visits, growing trend
Community Loyalist: Local repeat visits, rising trend
Quick Buyer: Short dwell time, narrow brand set
Explorer: Browsing, trial behavior, nearly extinct except for NYC.
The New Reality
• Dwell Time Shrinkage: Average duration of a visit to a dispensary has dropped below 10 minutes nationwide.
• Cross-Shopping Collapse: Shoppers visit just 3 dispensaries per month on average — down from last year.
• Routine Loyalty: Visit frequency (at a particular dispensary) remains steady at roughly 2 visits per shopper per month.
• Cannabis consumers now act more like quick-serve restaurant or convenience store customers: Efficient, habitual, and driven by convenience and trust rather than novelty.
NXTeck believes the shift to efficiency is reshaping how success is measured in the cannabis sector. The biggest challenge isn’t foot traffic — it’s customer conversion and retention.
In this new market reality:
• Brand loyalty is earned through experience and data precision, not price alone.
• The path to conversion happens before a customer steps inside the dispensary.
• Media efficiency and attribution are no longer optional — they’re the differentiators between stagnant spending and scalable growth.
To learn more, we urge you to read the article that appeared in the November 9, 2025 issue of the publication New Frontier Data. Just click on the following link.
Cannabis Quote of the Week
Top Takeaway: Legalization is the key to regulation.
“No banking bill will save us. No half step will fix this. No incremental tweak will correct decades of damage. Only legalization gives this industry oxygen. Only legalization ends 280E. Only legalization ends the raids. Only legalization ends the fear. Only legalization stops the fragmented nonsense that destroys operators while confusing the public.
“And let me be very clear about something else. This is not a fight between hemp and cannabis. It is the same plant. The same history. The same communities. The same families. The same disrespect. It’s time to send someone to Congress who will meet the moment our industry demands.” — Wanda James
Ms. James is a Colorado-based cannabis entrepreneur who is running for Congress. Her comments are taken from remarks she shared about her cannabis legalization platform at a recent MJBizCon event.
According to Kyle Jaeger, who reported on Ms. James’s campaign for Marijuana Moment, she believes rescheduling cannabis is merely, “kicking the can down the road.”
Instead, she contends that full legalization of cannabis “is the only way to move forward with federal safety standards, interstate commerce, banking access, and national market stability.”
Jaeger noted that James also said in a statement that she would push for legislative reform that involves putting marijuana tax revenue toward community reinvestment initiatives supporting “affordable housing, mental-health services, childcare assistance, public-school improvements, and neighborhood economic development.”
An elected regent at the University of Colorado, James is also a veteran and, according to Jaeger, has said she’d pursue reform that’d allow doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend medical cannabis to the veteran population “without fear of penalty or bureaucratic barriers.”
Described by Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) as “a force of nature,” Ms. James is challenging Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) in next year’s Democratic primary to represent Colorado’s 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. DeGette is also supportive of marijuana reform and has sponsored legislation — as well as an appropriation rider — to prevent federal interference in state cannabis laws.
To learn more, we suggest reading Kyle Jaeger’s article in the December 3, 2025 issue of MarijuanaMoment.net.
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can each them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.