Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at how medical cannabis can help seniors, convenience as a leading cannabis consumer trend and treating anxious dogs with CBD. Enjoy.
Notable Numbers
Top takeaway: Seniors said cannabis helped them manage pain, insomnia and emotional issues.
This week’s notable number is 91 percent. According to a new study, that’s the percentage of seniors who reported that using medical cannabis helped them to experience less pain and insomnia and manage emotional issues.
The study, which took place at a specialized practice in Colombia, involved 124 people over the age of 65, most of whom had not previously used cannabis.
Tom Angell, reporting for Marijuana Moment, wrote that the most frequent diagnoses presented by participants were pain-related and musculoskeletal disorders, cancer and neurodegenerative and non-degenerative neurological disorders. The top therapeutic objectives stated by these individuals was relief of pain, mood/behavioral issues, insomnia and motor symptoms.
Angell reported that the patients’ symptoms were recorded by treating physicians and then coded by researchers on a four-point scale (0 = absent, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, and 3 = severe). The symptoms were classified according to their impact on patients’ autonomy, basic and instrumental activities of daily living, and participation in meaningful daily activities.
For the purposes of the study, symptom improvement was defined as a reduction of at least one point in severity relative to baseline, which was established during intake, and 91 percent of participants met that threshold, according to the research team.
In a paper describing the study, the researchers wrote, “The first documented improvement occurred at visit 2 in 67.7 percent of patients with pain, 65.4 percent of those with insomnia, and 73.9 percent of those with mood or behavioral symptoms, with median times to first improvement of three, two, and one month, respectively.”
They also stated, “In this retrospective real-world study, older adults receiving supervised medical cannabis experienced favorable symptom evolution during follow-up, while treatment showed a clinically acceptable safety profile and was characterized by consistently low documented clinically effective doses.”
Angell noted in his article that the clinically effective doses of cannabis, which was most commonly administered in oral oil-based formulations, was “low”—typically using just a few milligrams per day of THC, CBD and/or CBG.
Also, when it came to the patients use of other medications during the study, researchers reported there were dose reductions or discontinuations of concomitant medications in a quarter of the patients.
As always, Tom Angell’s reporting is clear and concise. To learn more, we urge you to read his article in the August 28, 2026 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
Cannabis Trends
Top takeaway: Products that emphasize convenience are reshaping the cannabis market.
Increasingly, when it comes to the kinds of products that are driving the cannabis market, convenience is king. Consumers are looking for marijuana products that are ready to use, work as expected and don’t require a second thought.
So says Margaret Jackson in an article she penned for MJBizDaily. She contends that this emphasis on convenience is “spurring a new wave of product innovation built around less prep and more access.”
Jackson cites an analysis of consumer data generated by the cannabis research firm Headset that was conducted by Laurie Parfitt, a Chicago-based marketing executive.
Parfitt’s analysis shows that all-in-one disposable vapes now generate about $2.82 billion on about 94.8 million units sold, up 23.8 percent in revenue and 22.9 percent in units year over year, at an average product price of $29.7.
Said Parfitt, “Everybody likes the all-in-one because there’s less to think about.”
Jackson notes that pre-rolls are also part of the move toward convenience. According to Parfitt’s analysis, infused pre-rolls posted about $1.8 billion in sales.That’s an increase of 13.4 percent in revenue and 21 percent in units sold. Parfitt claims that multipacks are also climbing fast, with brands such as Dogwalkers gaining ground.
Jackson also pointed out that a new product from Chicago-based multistate operator Cresco Labs is part of its response to the demand for convenience. Cresco is launching an oral cannabis pouch called High Supply SLIPS. The product comes in two flavors and two doses – 10 milligrams and 4 milligrams per piece.
Dana Mason, brand manager at Cresco, told Jackson that the growth of all-in-one vapes and pre-rolls pointed toward something bigger. Said Mason, “We saw a lot of inhalable consumers seeking out all-in-one vapes and pre-rolls. That told us the trend was toward convenience.”
Mason believes the oral pouch targets a specific and largely unserved gap – occasions where consumers can’t smoke at all. Restaurants, sporting events and public transit leave those consumers with limited options.
Added Mason, “There are certain places where I simply cannot smoke. The same consumer who might otherwise be packing a bowl is switching to pre-rolls. This takes that insight one step further. What happens in those places where you can’t even light up?”
Parfitt told Jackson she expects the next wave of convenience to move toward discretion, with products such as sublinguals, tinctures and more accessible concentrates topping her list.
In the end, writes Jackson, consumers want “less friction,” and the products that provide that are the ones taking market share.
Margaret Jackson does an excellent job of illuminating the role convenience is playing in the cannabis sector. To learn more, we urge you to read her article in the August 31, 2026 issue of MJBizDaily.com.
mjbizdaily.com/news/has-convenience-become-the-deciding-factor-in-cannabis-sales/617815/
Spotlight on Pets
Top takeaway: CBD-based products can help to reduce anxiety in dogs.
There may be hopeful news for those who find managing their dog’s anxious behavior can be a challenge. A new study suggests CBD-based products can help to reduce canine stress.
That’s the word from a group of French researchers who report they have had success managing stress-related behavior in shelter dogs by using medication that contains CBD and CBDA.
The researcher team, the majority of whom are affiliated with Paris Nanterre University; Association Agir pour la Vie Animale, conducted a double-blind pilot study that focused on 17 shelter dogs that had a history of reactive or anxiety-related behaviours.
The dogs were randomly organized into two groups. One group received CBD- and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA)-rich hemp extract for a period of four weeks. During that same period the other group of dogs received a placebo.
During the study, stress-related behaviours were assessed using video recordings at T0 (baseline, pre-administration) and T1 (after four weeks of administration), with activity monitored for 48 hours at each timepoint.
The video recording showed that resting increased and activity decreased significantly among the dogs in the CBD/CBDA group (with the effect appearing most pronounced during nighttime). At the same time, no significant change was observed in the placebo group of dogs.
The researchers also reported that the dogs that received the CBD-based medication also exhibited reduced repetitive locomotion and postural transitions (constantly moving from sitting to standing).
Based on these and other findings, the research team concluded that the cbd-based medication helped to produce a specific calming effect, potentially reflecting reduced nocturnal vigilance and reactivity, rather than generalized sedation, in anxious dogs.
The study was published in the August 15, 2026 issue of SSRN, formerly known as Social Science Research Network, an open access research platform used to share early-stage research. To read an abstract of the study, click on the following link.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7275650
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.