A recent study from UC San Diego School of Medicine showed that more baby boomers are consuming cannabis, especially women. And many are using it for the first time.

The study was published June 2 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. It showed a dramatic increase in cannabis use among seniors 65 and older, from 0.4% in 2005 to 7.4% in 2023.

“This is really the first time we’re able to really examine current use or past use of cannabis among this older population, because the numbers have increased so sharply over the past decade, ” said Dr. Benjamin Han, the lead author of the study.

The study also showed increases among seniors who are married, college-educated, financially well-off or women. For the study, Han looked at data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. He said increasing legalization is part of the reason.

“With that I think there’s also been a lot of interest in cannabis to treat chronic symptoms, chronic diseases, especially among older adults,” Han said.

Angel Navarro from Tradecraft Farms dispensary in Vista is seeing that firsthand. One customer, who was seeking relief for chronic pain, told him she didn’t like how she felt while taking prescription opioids.

“To her, she was like, ‘I’m not living anymore. I just feel drugged all the time,'” Navarro said. “So she got off of the opioids and started taking cannabis products.”

A lot of his customers are first-time users, he said, who come in with preconceived notions about cannabis from decades of “Reefer Madness” propaganda.

“They’re like, ‘I have no idea. I don’t want to smoke. I don’t want to smell like weed. I don’t want to be reeking of it,'” Navarro said.

He said that’s the purpose of his being there: to guide them through the myriad of options available — from drinks to tablets to consumables, such as gummies.

“They’ll come and tell me, ‘Hey, I’m having really bad joint pain. Really bad arthritis. I don’t want to take any more pharmaceuticals,'” Navarro said.

But as a doctor treating geriatric patients, Han has concerns about seniors self-medicating with cannabis.

“While cannabis may be helpful for certain chronic symptoms, it isn’t well studied,” he said, adding that it’s hard to “balance the benefits versus the risk for that person.”

He said older adults tend to take other prescription medications for chronic diseases that could be exacerbated by the use of cannabis. And the brain also becomes more sensitive to psychoactive substances, such as tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active compound in cannabis that gives it its high.

“I often see patients who are using psychoactive substances like THC, it’s very easy for them to feel, you know, to experience dizziness or lightheadedness,” Han said. “I’ve seen patients have falls related to that. And so that’s one thing that concerns me as a geriatrician.”

He recommends older patients talk to their doctors about cannabis use, but admits that it’s a tall order because there is still a stigma among baby boomers.

That was evidenced by the number of seniors who turned down being interviewed for this story because they didn’t want their friends, families or neighbors to know they’re using cannabis.