As cannabis use climbs among older Americans and legal products grow far more potent than the marijuana of decades past, specialists at Stanford Medicine are warning that people over 65 face a distinct set of hazards that younger users largely avoid. The concern is not moral but physiological: aging bodies process the drug differently, and older adults are more likely to be taking prescription medications, managing chronic conditions and vulnerable to falls. Physicians have identified five overlapping risks that make regular cannabis use particularly dangerous later in life, even as the substance sheds its stigma and gains acceptance among seniors seeking relief from pain, insomnia and anxiety.
A rising trend among seniors
Cannabis use among older adults has grown markedly in recent years, a shift driven by expanding legalization, greater social acceptance and interest in the drug as an alternative to conventional medications. According to figures cited in Stanford’s guidance and drawn from national survey data, about 7 percent of adults over 65 reported recent cannabis use in 2023, up from less than 5 percent in 2021. That upward trajectory, tracked through federal surveys compiled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, means a growing population of seniors is encountering a drug whose risks in older bodies are only beginning to receive sustained clinical attention. The reporting that publicized the Stanford warnings, aggregated in coverage from ScienceDaily, framed the trend as an underappreciated public-health issue.
Why aging changes the equation
The central reason cannabis behaves differently in older adults is metabolism. As the body ages, it clears drugs more slowly, so cannabis compounds linger longer than they would in a younger person. The Stanford specialists, whose advice is detailed in a report from Stanford, note that this slower clearance means a high can last longer than expected, extending the window of impairment, and it also multiplies the opportunities for the drug to interact with other medications circulating in the body. Compounding the problem is potency: today’s legal cannabis products are far stronger than those available a generation ago, raising the risk of accidental overconsumption by users who may be calibrating their intake to memories of a much weaker drug.
Falls, the heart and the brain
Three of the five flagged risks strike at systems that are already fragile in later life. Cannabis can impair balance, coordination and reaction time, raising the danger of falls, which are a leading cause of serious injury and death among older adults. It can also stress the cardiovascular system, potentially raising heart rate and blood pressure in ways that pose a greater threat to people with existing heart disease. And it can worsen memory and cognition, a particular concern for a population already at elevated risk of cognitive decline. Federal health resources on the drug’s effects, including material from the National Institute on Drug Abuse on cannabis, document how the drug affects coordination, cardiovascular function and memory, effects that carry heightened consequences when layered onto the vulnerabilities of age.
Dangerous drug interactions
Perhaps the most insidious of the five risks is the potential for cannabis to interfere with other medications, a hazard that grows with the number of prescriptions a person takes. Cannabidiol, the non-intoxicating compound known as CBD, can inhibit the liver enzymes responsible for breaking down many common drugs, allowing those medications to build up to higher-than-intended levels in the body. The Stanford physicians point specifically to blood thinners, warning that elevated drug levels could increase the danger of bleeding after an injury or a fall, a scenario that ties the interaction risk directly back to the fall risk. Because older adults are the group most likely to be taking multiple daily medications, they are also the group most exposed to these interactions, many of which may go unrecognized by patients and providers alike. Public-health guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on cannabis and health similarly emphasizes the drug’s capacity to affect other treatments and organ systems.
The overlooked risk of addiction
The fifth risk challenges a common assumption that cannabis is not habit-forming. Research indicates that a substantial share of regular users, by some estimates roughly 30 percent, meet criteria for what clinicians call cannabis use disorder, a pattern of use that becomes difficult to control despite negative consequences. Higher-potency products may increase that risk, and older adults who turn to cannabis for sleep or pain can find themselves relying on it more heavily over time. The Stanford message is not that seniors must avoid cannabis entirely, but that they should approach it with the same caution applied to any potent drug: starting low, going slow, disclosing use to their physicians, and weighing the interactions with existing medications. For a population increasingly drawn to cannabis as a gentle remedy, the specialists argue, the reality after 65 is considerably more complicated.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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