Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at how seniors and doctors discuss cannabis, the listing of a cannabis company on the New York Stock Exchange, cannabis and the World Cup and more. Enjoy.
Seniors and Cannabis
Top takeaway: Fewer than one in five adults older than 65 discuss their cannabis use with clinicians.
Health researchers at Rutgers University have found that fewer than one in five adults older than 65 report discussing their cannabis use with clinicians.
However, they also found that discussions about cannabis use were more likely to occur when patients had chronic medical conditions.
The finding comes from a study that will be published in the August, 2026 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The study explored what patients and clinicians discuss when they talk about cannabis use.
According to Nicole Swenarton, reporting for the publication News Wise, Rutgers Health researchers analyzed reports of cannabis and other drug use, whether patients were screened for drug use and whether they had conversations with their clinicians about their drug use.
Swenarton notes that the study comes at a time when 10.5 percent of adults older than 65 report using cannabis in the past year, according to reports from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
The Rutgers researchers contend that older adults need to understand the risks associated with cannabis use because aging and higher rates of chronic conditions can make them more susceptible to harmful consequences.
Said Pia Mauro, a core member of the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research and lead author of the study, “Cannabis use is on the rise; therefore it’s crucial for physicians to facilitate important conversations about the potential consequences of cannabis, especially for older adults and those with chronic diseases.”
To learn more, we suggest reading the article by Nicole Swenarton that appeared in the June 7, 2026 issue of Newswise.com, a publication of Rutgers University.
To read an abstract of the journal article, click on the following link.
https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(26)00047-4/fulltext
Investor News and Notes
Top takeaway: The first U.S. cannabis company has begun trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
In a move that has long been coveted by U.S. cannabis firms and investors, Florida-based Trulieve has become the first U.S. cannabis company to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to Jeremy Berke, reporting for Yahoo Finance, the cannabis company began trading on June 10 under the ticker TRLV. The company’s OTC-listed shares (TCNNF) jumped 20 percent on the news and the stock’s up nearly 38 percent this year.
Prior to this, all U.S. cannabis firms were forced to trade over-the-counter or on the far less liquid Canadian Securities Exchange.
Berke notes that this historic move resulted from a perfect storm of regulatory changes by the federal government and strategic moves by Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers.
He writes that the Justice Department in April issued a final order to reclassify medical cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule I to the far less restrictive Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, after President Trump issued an Executive Order in December.
However, so far that decision applies only to medical cannabis.The DEA will hold hearings on June 29 to debate whether that reclassification should apply to recreational cannabis – the kind you can buy in dispensaries in nearly half of U.S. states – as well.
To remove its involvement in the recreational cannabis market as a potential stumbling block, Trulieve said in a filing it took steps to carve out its recreational cannabis operations into a separate entity, Harvest Enterprises. The company brought in outside investor Whitley Holding for about $14.8 million to take a 10 percent voting stake in Harvest and make the split real under accounting rules. If federal rules change and the NYSE ever opens the door to recreational operators, Trulieve’s non-voting stake in Harvest converts back into common units.
Berke makes the point that the company’s strong medical presence in Florida — Trulieve controls up to 40 percent of the valuable market, by some estimates — makes the business defensible as an investment on its own even without the recreational revenue attached.
To learn more, we urge you to read the excellent reporting by Jeremy Berke in the June 5, 2026 issue of Yahoo Finance.com.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles//trulieve-become-first-u-cannabis-195203811.html
Cannabis and the World Cup
Top takeaway: Multiple states are making sure World Cup visitors understand local cannabis laws.
The international soccer competition known as the World Cup is expected to draw a total of 1.24 million visitors to the 11 U.S. cities that are hosting games.
As part of their preparation for the event, multiple states are taking steps to make sure that visitors who are in town to watch World Cup games understand local cannabis laws.
For example, according to Tom Angell, reporting for Marijuana Moment, in Massachusetts, the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) has launched a public information campaign to educate soccer fans about where they can legally purchase cannabis, along with reminders about how to celebrate with it responsibly.
Said CCC Chair Chris Harding said in a press release, “Our goal is to make sure both visitors and residents alike avoid committing any dangerous plays this summer while enjoying the festivities surrounding the World Cup by understanding how to consume responsibly.”
Angell notes that in New York, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) is putting out public messaging to help make sure tourists who are visiting to watch World Cup matches understand the basics of the state’s marijuana laws,
Said John Kagia, OCM’s executive director, in a comment to the New York Post, “We certainly don’t want to see any adverse events.”
He added, “It’s really important to access the legal market in a responsible manner. Be mindful and respectful and good neighbors. Be discreet. We want fans to be particularly mindful that there are young families with children at these events.”
To learn more, we suggest reading the reporting by Tom Angell in the June 8, 2026 issue of Marijuana Moment.net. As always, his work is first rate.
Cannabis Education and Medical Professionals
Top takeaway: Medical professionals would benefit from increased training in cannabis issues.
A new study suggests a need for structured clinical training on cannabis pharmacology, dosing, contraindications, and legal and ethical frameworks, as well as better monitoring of cannabis use to support safe and informed patient care.
The study was conducted by researchers affiliated with the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Baylor University and was published in the Journal of Cannabis Research.
The researchers conducted what they described as an anonymous, cross-sectional web-based survey of 879 U.S. healthcare professionals to assess knowledge and attitudes regarding cannabis use in clinical settings. Participants completed demographic items, self-report measures of cannabis-related beliefs and attitudes, and an objective knowledge assessment covering cannabis therapeutic indications, risks, and mechanisms of action.
The research team found that, overall, most respondents (87 percent) endorsed the therapeutic promise of cannabis, 74 percent reported openness to recommending medical cannabis, and 95 percent supported its legal medical use.
Commonly cited concerns regarding clinical use of cannabis included lack of trained providers (35 percent), possible patient exploitation (22 percent), recreational misuse (21 percent), and risk of psychosis (20 percent). Greater openness to clinical use was associated with higher self-rated knowledge, younger age, professional role, and lower levels of concern.
To read an abstract of the study, which appears in the May 29, 2026 issue of the Journal of Cannabis Research, click on the following link.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42238-026-00450-8 (med professionals)
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.