According to researchers at UCSD, 12,167 California elders — people over the of 65 — made trips to emergency rooms in 2019 for cannabis-related issues.
Reporter Eric Page at 7SanDiego cited the study conducted by the University of California San Diego School of Medicine that “just 366 Californians over the age of 65 visited ERs in 2005 for cannabis-related concerns. By 2019, that figure had skyrocketed nearly 3200%, when 12,167 seniors made trips to emergency rooms for that reason.”
Researchers cited “a growing number of older adults … experimenting with cannabis to help alleviate chronic symptoms” as responsible, in part, for the wave of ER visitors. Among other reasons, geriatricians will likely be concerned about study’s findings due to the fact that older patients “are at a higher risk for adverse health effects associated with psychoactive substances,” according to a news release issued by UC San Diego this week.
Although some older users are experimenting with the drug as a component of palliative care, others are imbibing recreationally, of course. Both groups — who, researchers believe, are under the impression that their risk of regular use is decreasing — are using marijuana in increasing numbers since 2005; both have contributed to the spike in trips to the hospital, researchers believe.
And legalization does not appear to be connected to an increase in ER visits by these elders for cannabis-related issues.
For the article, go here.
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As someone who is technically a senior now, I foresee an SNL skit or even a Familiar Guy joke.