Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at the use of medical cannabis by those 50 and older, cannabis at the Oscars, a new take on an insidious “gateway drug” and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis and Seniors
A new study on the use of medical marijuana by patients aged 50 and older concluded that “cannabis seemed to be a safe and effective treatment” for pain and other conditions, adding that, “Most patients experienced clinically significant improvements in pain, sleep, and quality of life and reductions in co-medication.”
That’s the word from Ben Adlin, reporting on a study conducted by Greenly Medical Consulting, the medical cannabis company Tilray and the University of Victoria for Marijuana Moment. The study was published in the journal Cannabis.
According to Adlin, the study—called the Medical Cannabis in Older Patients Study, or MCOPS—evaluated the cannabis use of 299 participants in British Columbia and Ontario, Canada. The average age of those participating was 66.7 years. The vast majority of participants—around 90 percent—used medical marijuana to treat pain-related conditions, including chronic pain and arthritis. About two thirds (66.2 percent) were female.
In his article, Adlin noted that nearly all patients used products consumed orally, such as edibles and extracts, as opposed to smoked or vaporized cannabis, and most preferred products high in CBD and relatively low in THC.
Patients participating in the study used medical cannabis under the care of a healthcare provider, with the treating physician reporting data involving the use of cannabis and other medications, as well as impacts on pain, sleep, quality of life and any adverse effects.
Adlin also pointed out that no serious side effects were reported, with fewer than five percent of participants reporting any adverse effects, and the majority of those involving nausea and feeling “too high.”
Said the research team in their journal article, “Over the six-month study period, significant improvements were noted in pain, sleep, and quality of life measures, with 45% experiencing a clinically meaningful improvement in pain interference and in sleep quality scores.”
“Additionally, nearly 50% of patients taking co-medications at baseline had reduced their use by the end of the study period and quality of life improved significantly from baseline to [month three] and from baseline to [month six].”
Beyond improving patient outcomes, using medical marijuana also appeared to reduce costs.
“Among patients with medication costs at baseline,” authors wrote, “mean monthly medication costs dropped from $74.10 at baseline (SD=$193.30) down to $28.70 at M6 (SD=$69.50), representing a $45.40 mean monthly savings, and a 61.3% decline in prescription medication costs.”
Added the research team in their article,”The results of this multi-site, prospective, longitudinal study of medical cannabis patients age 50 years and older indicate that cannabis may be a relatively safe and effective treatment for chronic pain, sleep disturbances, and other conditions associated with aging leading to subsequent reductions in prescription drug use and healthcare costs, as well as significant improvements in quality of life. As the use of cannabis for medical purposes by older patients continues to increase in North America and around the globe, these findings suggest that further studies employing more robust methodological approaches, including clinical trials, are certainly justified.”
Ben Adlin’s reporting on the study is clear and concise. His article appears in the February 28, 2025 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
To read an abstract of the study, click on the following link.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39968489/#full-view-affiliation-4
And the Cannabis Goes to
Lights, camera, cannabis. Each year, as part of the Oscar celebration the top nominees for acting and directing awards receive “goody bags” filled with certificates for vacations, skincare products, luxury items and more.
This year, according to Cara Wietstock, reporting for the website GreenState, that “more” included cannabis-related products. The “Everyone Wins” bags, said to be worth around $200,000, are curated by a Los Angeles-based marketing firm called Distinctive Assets, and are delivered to the nominees’ homes prior to the event.
Along with sleep therapy products and a portable hammock, this year each bag contained Beboe luxury rose gold vapes, Dogwalkers mini-joints, Señorita THC margarita, and RYTHM musically driven flower.
Said company founder Lash Fairy in an interview with Reuters, “This is California and this is a stressful week for a lot of these folks. So we’ve got four different cannabis options for them.”
Wietstock noted that the bags also contained various “LA Strong” shirts and bracelets as a reminder that the region recently endured the shared trauma of the recent wildfires.
Added Fairy, “Whether they pamper themselves or share these bountiful gifts as a care package for a friend who may have recently lost their home, we give these gifts not based on the recipients’ need but out of a desire to brighten someone’s day and to acknowledge a job well done.”
To learn more we urge you to read Cara Wietstock’s engaging and entertaining reporting in the February 28, 2025 issue of GreenState.com.
https://www.greenstate.com/arts/2025-oscars-gift-bag/
And the Award Goes to
When the California State Fair returns this July, so will on-site cannabis consumption and the California Cannabis Awards. According to Graham Abbott, reporting for Ganjapreneur, the competition-style event is designed to exhibit and recognize the state’s top cannabis producers and product manufacturers.
Fairgoers aged 21 and older will be able to access the cannabis exhibit — and purchase and consume cannabis products on-site — throughout the fair’s duration.
This marks the fourth year the Fair has invited marijuana entrepreneurs and consumers to participate—and the second year in a row, on-site sales and consumption will be permitted.
Abbot notes that to better recognize the market’s product diversity, this year’s event will include new award categories for blunts, hash, and cannabis-infused chocolates. Submissions for the competition opened March 1.
Other categories up for awards include indoor, outdoor and mixed-light flower, beverages, cartridges, concentrates, edibles, pre-rolls and wellness.
Said Tom Martinez, the California State Fair CEO, “For more than 170 years the California State Fair has had a long-standing tradition of celebrating the best of the Golden State, especially those who epitomize the state’s agricultural excellence. Since welcoming cannabis to the Fair, we’ve witnessed firsthand the pride and dedication of California’s cannabis cultivators, who are crafting some of the best products, not just in the state, but in the entire industry.”
In his article, Abbott also points out that the Fair will once again partner with the California cannabis brand Embarc to manage integrated, on-site cannabis sales.
Said Embarc’s co-founder Lauren Carpenter, “Last year, we made history by integrating cannabis sales and consumption into the State Fair, and we are thrilled to return in 2025. Through an immersive educational experience, we’re shining a light on the cannabis brands reflecting and shaping cannabis culture in California and beyond.”
This year the California State Fair will run from July 11-27.
To learn more, we suggest reading Graham Abbott’s article in the March 3, 2025 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
Kyle Jaeger covered the story for Marijuana Moment.net. His insightful reporting appears in the February 28, 2025 issue.
Treating PTSD with Cannabis
There is hopeful news for veterans and others who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder and their caregivers. A new study suggests that cannabis can be an effective and affordable treatment for the condition.
The study, which was conducted by researchers affiliated with the cannabis company Leafwell, was published in the journal Clinical Drug Investigation
According to Ben Stevens, who covered the study for the publication Business of Cannabis, the findings indicate that even without comprehensive medical insurance, medical cannabis treatments could help reduce healthcare costs while improving patient outcomes.
Stevens noted that the researchers examined the cost-effectiveness of medical cannabis when used alongside more traditional treatments, such as antidepressants, comparing various cannabis products under four insurance reimbursement models.
Stevens reported that the researcher team found that non-flower cannabis products, such as edibles, tablets and other oral solutions, were the most cost-effective methods of consumption, regardless of insurance coverage, with these formulations meeting cost-effective thresholds commonly used by US insurers even at 100 percent reimbursement plans.
However, Stevens noted, researchers also found that while dried cannabis flower proved less cost-effective due to its higher price point, it was still considered a cost-effective treatment method when insurance covered at least 50 percent-70 percent of treatment costs, dependent on product pricing.
Stevens also observed that one of the study’s most significant findings was that medical cannabis still led to health improvements even when patients paid out of pocket. Even at 0 percent reimbursement, patients experienced what were described as “meaningful benefits” at no additional cost to insurers.
Said Dr. Mitchell L. Doucette, lead author and Senior Director of the Health Economics and Outcomes Research Division at Leafwell, “This study is a crucial step in demonstrating the economic and therapeutic value of medical cannabis in mental health care.”
To learn more, we suggest reading Ben Stevens’s reporting in the February 26, 2025 issue of Business of Cannabis.com.
To read an abstract of the study, click on the following link.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40261-025-01424-z
A Dangerous Gateway Drug
According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 84 percent of adults have consumed a substance described by at least one expert as a “gateway drug” that exposes individuals to other drugs.
The drug? Alcohol.
So says Melissa Rudy in an article for Fox News. in her article, Rudy quotes Dr. Kenneth Spielvogel, senior medical officer at Carrara Treatment in California, who, in an interview with Fox News Digital, described alcohol as a “classic gateway drug as it can lead to cocaine, heroin and other ‘harder drugs’ that present a greater threat to loss of life via impaired driving and other volatile behaviors.”
Said Spielvogel, “Any substance that impairs judgment is potentially a gateway drug, in my opinion — however, alcohol is the king of this. It maintains a firm grip on a large portion of the adult population.”
He added, “I personally have seen the ravages of this — hungover victims turn to meth, cocaine and other drugs for the ‘pick me up’ they feel they need.”
Chris Tuell, a clinical psychotherapist and a chemical and behavioral addiction specialist at the Lindner Center in Mason, Ohio told Rudy that alcohol is the first substance many young people try. This, he believes, makes them more likely to experiment with other drugs later.
Said Tuell, “Consumption of alcohol impairs judgment and decision-making, which can lead to riskier behaviors, including trying other substances.” He also stated that studies indicate that alcohol alters brain chemistry in ways that increase susceptibility to drug addiction.
To learn more about the dangers of this “gateway drug,” you can read Melissa Rudy’s article in the March 2, 2025 edition of Fox News, posted on AOL.com.
https://www.aol.com/dangerous-gateway-drug-lead-other-093051184.html
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
