Parents and Seniors Smoking More Weed than Youngsters

Getty Images

It has been widely reported that teenage pot-smoking rates dropped or remained flat after legalization in Colorado, and only rose slightly nationwide.

Now we are learning that an ironic role reversal is underway as their parents are doing most of the toking, according to recent data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The recently released CDC report notes that middle-aged and senior citizens are more likely to smoke weed than teenagers.

Indeed, regular pot use among people between 35-54 (up by 50% according to the CDC study) has surpassed use among teens.

The biggest spike was among the 55 to 64-year group: a whopping 455%.

And it’s not just our parents smoking more… it’s our grandparents. The most surprising piece of data was the 333% rise in cannabis use among seniors aged 65 and above.

This should come as no surprise to those who may recall that baby boomers were huge supporters of legalization back in the 1960s and ‘70s. As their lives took different turns, their enthusiasm waned—but clearly, it’s back.

Jump forward to 2013, and over half of the boomers favor legalizing pot, among the highest percentages ever, according to the Pew Research Center.

Another study, published last week by Lancet Psychiatry, shows that Americans do not perceive pot as harmful, and, more importantly, there was no increase in “marijuana use disorders,” or dependence on pot, despite the rise in smoking.

If this trend continues, speculates CDC report author Alejandro Azofeifa to the The Washington Post, pot use among older adults could be higher than use among teens in a few years.

“Older groups had a significant increase of marijuana use in the past month,” says Azofeifa.

That being the case, where are baby boomers getting their weed? Some are growing their own—but don’t do it if you live in Indiana.

Mildred Layton, 74, was recently busted when a retired Indiana State Police officer, flying a small aircraft over her house, turned her in for growing seven pot plants in her yard and on her deck.

Mildred, who told police she’d been growing for a “couple of years,” is being charged with possession and cultivation, which is a Level 6 Felony in Indiana under Governor Mike Pence, a.k.a. Trump’s VP running mate.

According to a local news outlet, in addition to finding basic indoor growing equipment in Mildred’s basement, authorities also discovered a “roach clip, rolling papers…and a magazine called High Times also in plain view.”

Total
52
Shares
3 comments
  1. It will take several years to get meaningful data from such surveys. The more areas that allow MMJ or legal consumption, the more folks will likely come out of the cannabis closet and feel relaxed enough to admit use.

  2. Healthmedicationalstore11 supply pure Pain Killers, Anti Anxiety,
    Weight loss, Steroids, Marijuana HGH, ADHD & ED , Research Chemicals
    + more that 1100 different medicines. in major international markets
    and we are trusted and dependable company to deal with because we render
    the best of services to our customers worldwide. We are a registered
    enterprise here in US and we operate with 100% return policy and
    delivery is 100% assured after you agree with our company dealing tools.

    optiongroup12@gmail.com

  3. Gotta love that some douchebag retired pig flies over a woman’s house and then turns her in and busts her ass for growing. Seems like an invasion of privacy to me..

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts
Estate
Read More

Estate Grown

A cannabis retailer adopts ideas from the wine and hospitality industries.
Jamaica
Read More

Growing Ganja in Jamaica

A look at different cultivation regions on the Caribbean island that’s synonymous with cannabis.
Jerome Baker
Read More

Where Dreams Are Made

Jerome Baker’s Dream Factory Las Vegas attracts tourists from around the world.
Laos
Read More

Fear and Loathing in Laos

I tried to overcome my nicotine addiction through Buddhism while backpacking through Southeast Asia. Here’s how it went.
Fassbinder
Read More

From the Archives: Fassbinder & His Friends (1983)

The darling of the film festivals; a director of genius — He died of a barbiturate/cocaine overdose at age 36. Sex, drugs, sadism and Weltschmerz: The orgiastic life and tragic death of Germany's greatest filmmaker.
Cube
Read More

Shake ‘Em Up

Ice Cube on carving his own path and staying true to his roots.
Total
52
Share