Did you know that Americans 65 years and older only account for 14 percent of the nation’s population but use more than 30 percent of all prescription drugs? These prescription drugs include highly-addictive painkillers among an array of other pills consumed daily.
Up until now, seniors have historically been the most opposed to medical marijuana. But why is that the case when they are the very group of people that can benefit the most? The simple answer is “longer exposure to propaganda and the War on Drugs.”
However, now Americans 65 years and older are beginning to turn around their opposition to marijuana legalization. The latest polls confirm Americans 55 and up use more marijuana than ever before. Those once opposed now see the benefits seniors face when using medical marijuana. This could have a huge impact on both the marijuana legalization movement and senior health care.
So how can marijuana help with medical condition seniors face? Let’s break it down.
Seniors and Medical Marijuana
Arthritis
Arthritis affects approximately 20 percent of the American population, with millions of Americans suffering from Arthritis pain annually. How can people stop the pain? Doctors prescribe opioid painkillers, but these pills come with dangerous side effects for senior citizens, including accidental over-medication affecting respiration and heart rate. When looking at your options for pain relief, cannabis is clearly the safer and more natural alternative.
Insomnia
Three out of five seniors struggle with falling or staying asleep, which is troublesome considering the rest that our bodies require at night is especially important in old age. Sleeping pills exist, but these also have negative side effects that some people just don’t want to deal with. When comparing cannabis use, studies found that indica strains of marijuana help people fall asleep up to an hour faster than normal, and stay asleep through the entire night with deeper levels of REM sleep.
Cancer Treatment and Prevention
Seniors are at a significantly higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer. Studies continue to show the positive effects of using cannabis when treating cancer. In fact, cannabis has been found to not only effectively fight the side effects of chemotherapy but also to reduce tumor size and risk of certain types of cancer, including breast, lung, prostate, uterus, cervix, mouth and colon cancer.
Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the formation of amyloid plaques on the neural pathways in the brain. Cannabis, especially the THC cannabinoid, has been shown to block the formation of these plaques and even reduce the levels of existing plaques. More research needs to be done in this area, but studies in California reveal the positive effects of THC on the aging brain.
Quality of Life
All the conditions listed above are plenty of reason for seniors to be giving medical marijuana try. But medical marijuana can offer more than pain relief or help with sleep because it can increase the quality of life for senior citizens. Depression is common among seniors, due to numerous possible reasons including limited physical activity, poor health, chronic pain and other factors that directly affect the quality of life. For centuries, medical cannabis has been known to increase quality of life in people. Users often report increased happiness and better moods, less focus on pain and other inabilities, and even making entertainment and social activities more enjoyable.
Improving quality of life in senior citizens can mean the difference between life and death. Adding to the quality of life in old age leads to adding a number of years to good living. Medical cannabis helped people for thousands of years before the War on Drugs took hold on American politics. Now is the time to finally put the failed War on Drugs to rest, and give our senior citizens an effective chance at living longer, happier lives.
Order your medical marijuana online today at the Las Vegas ReLeaf medical marijuana dispensary.,
