Healthcare

Marijuana's popularity on the rise with seniors

I won’t be joining the aging pot fans. I was a pothead in high school, smoking probably every day until I graduated and beyond. The miracle herb turned on me and made me paranoid, until I was finally unable to be in public after toking up. I’m not going to make a judgment of other people’s preferences, but it’s not for me. Apparently a growing number of older Americans have a different experience and are joining the medical marijuana craze. From CBS Detroit: DETROIT (WWJ) – Many area seniors aren’t taking just their prescription pills, they’re smoking or baking marijuana as a way to deal with the daily aches and pains. Dr. Kathleen Murphy is a geriatric medicine specialist at Beaumont Hospital. She says this year she’s had about half a dozen requests for medical marijuana. “Most of the time it is for pain (the prescription marijuana request) or nausea, the incidence of pain in older adults is phenomenal, I mean, 50 percent of the adults in the community are in pain,” says Dr. Murphy. Dr. Murphy expects in the coming year even more seniors will be asking her for the legalized herb.]]>