Senior Citizens Support Drugs? Retirees Views On Marijuana May Surprise You
Senior citizen potheads? Well not quite. Grandma might not be a pothead, but some of the views that seniors hold regarding drugs (specifically marijuana) might surprise you.
Nearly three out of four older Americans support legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana, a poll conducted for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has found. The poll, conducted in mid-November for the nation’s largest group representing senior citizens, surveyed 1,706 people aged 45 or older.
Overall, 72% of respondents agreed that “adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if a physician recommends it.” Support was highest in the West (82%) and Northeast (79%) and lowest in the Midwest (67%) and Southwest (65%). In the South, 70% agreed with the statement.
The poll asked if respondents thought marijuana had medical uses, and oddly enough, many seniors who said they didn’t think it had medical uses supported pot anyway. Less than half of those over 70 agreed marijuana had medical benefits, but 69% of that group wanted it legalized for medical purposes. Younger respondents were more likely to think marijuana has medical benefits, with some 70% of 45-49-year-olds agreeing that it does.
Personal use histories and attitudes toward marijuana’s addictiveness were also age-related, the poll suggested. Among those over 70, only 8% had smoked pot, compared with 58% of the forty-somethings, 37% of the fifty-somethings, and 15% of the sixty-somethings. Similarly, the older respondents were, the more likely they were to believe that marijuana is addictive. While overall, 74% thought the weed could enslave you, that number was 83% among those over 70 and only 61% among the forty-somethings.
The AARP poll results are well in line with other surveys of support for medical marijuana, which consistently show well above majority support and often range into the higher than 80% bracket. While the AARP takes no position on the issue, it will examine it in the March-April issue of the AARP magazine, which will appear in late January.
The AARP has 35 million members. “The use of medical marijuana applies to many older Americans who may benefit from cannabis,” said AARP magazine editor Ed Dwyer in a press statement.