“Seniors have special issues,” says Beverly A. Potter, a California psychologist who goes by the moniker DocPotter. And then she launches into a litany of them: aches and pains caused by arthritis and other diseases common to aging, anxiety and depression due to isolation, chronic trouble sleeping. All these conditions, she says, can be treated with an age-old remedy: marijuana or cannabis, which has a history of use dating back to 440 B.C.

Even the staunchest news-avoider can’t have missed the ongoing buzz: Almost half of all states now have laws either decriminalizing or legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. Those states and more than a dozen others have adopted medical marijuana programs. And older people are among the biggest converts to using it, as many are actively searching for alternatives to pharmaceutical medications — especially sleep aides and opioid painkillers.

Potter regularly extols the benefits of cannabis and educates consumers about it in lectures and workshops, at her website, and in a book she’s written: Cannabis for Seniors. While acknowledging that cannabis is indeed a mood-altering drug that may lead to impaired judgment and coordination, one of Potter’s favorite teaching methods is to take on and debunk the three most common myths surrounding it. She did just that during a seminar in San Francisco, where the sold-out crowd consisted mostly of seniors.

Myth #1: Cannabis is a Gateway Drug

No question that we live in a more enlightened world than yesteryear, when the 1936 film, “Reefer Madness,” cautioned against the perils of hallucinations and addiction certain to overtake anyone in the same room as a puffer.

The Founders of American government envisioned states as laboratories that would experiment with new ideas. The federal government is often slow to adopt changes in federal law, even when states pave the way with successful experiments. Until recently, the federal government was steadfast in its decision to classify marijuana as a dangerous Schedule 1 drug, ignoring repeated petitions and bills to switch it to a more benign category. The law mandates that Schedule I drugs or other substances must meet three criteria.

They must:

• have a high potential for abuse
• not be currently accepted for medical use in treatment in the United States, and
• lack a record of being used safely under medical supervision.

The Justice Department has historically taken the position that marijuana is dangerous because it is a gateway drug, a starting point on a path to more serious drug abuse. The DOJ based that argument on evidence that most users of cocaine, heroin, and other dangerous drugs used marijuana before experimenting with those drugs. It is equally true that most heroin users ate hamburgers before turning to heroin, but nobody believes that hamburger consumption inspires people to use heroin.

It is clear that the component chemicals of marijuana have a medical use. A cannabis specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital who teaches at Harvard Medical School explains that marijuana “is quite effective for the chronic pain that plagues millions of Americans, especially as they age.” It is less debilitating than opiates used to treat the pain of multiple sclerosis and other nerve diseases. In fact, the FDA in 2018 approved the use of the first marijuana-derived drug, Epidolex, to treat seizures associated with a rare form of epilepsy.

Lacking substantial evidence to support DOJ’s “gateway drug” argument, the Drug Enforcement Agency under the Biden administration reluctantly agreed to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug, allowing it to be prescribed for medical purposes. Because the DEA dragged its institutional feet after President Biden directed it to make the change, the rulemaking process will not be complete before President Trump takes office. Whether the incoming administration will interfere with the rescheduling effort remains to be seen.

Beverly Potter, however, sides with the growing number of medical researchers and practitioners who point fingers at alcohol as “the most damaging and socially accepted drug in the world.” They argue that people who develop substance addictions are most likely to turn first to alcohol and nicotine, particularly if they start the habits before reaching legal age.

 Myth #2: Cannabis Damages Your Brain

There is evidence that marijuana affects brain development, making it ill-advised for consumption by children, teens, and pregnant women. Since brain development is complete by age 25, those concerns are probably less troubling to seniors as they weigh the risks and rewards of using cannabis. Concerns that young users are too immature to use marijuana responsibly are also less relevant to older adults who use marijuana for medical purposes.

Marijuana use may also be detrimental for people who suffer from certain psychological conditions. Cannabis may interfere with medications used to treat depression and other mental health issues. Other potential drug interactions are being studied. Seniors should therefore talk to a physician who is familiar with their medication history before experimenting with marijuana.

The psychoactive chemical in marijuana that causes users to feel “high” attaches to receptors in the brain that are critical to memory formation. Harvard Health warns that marijuana can accordingly “produce short-term problems with thinking, working memory, executive function, and psychomotor function.” Those problems do not generally persist beyond 24 hours after using the drug. While the impact of marijuana use on long-term memory is less clear, a recent study found no relationship between long-term cannabis use and long-term memory.

While marijuana may expose users to uncertain health risks, studies suggest that adults who have reached middle age find marijuana to be helpful in improving sleep, elevating moods, and reducing anxiety. One study of older users found that MRI results showed marijuana users to have greater connectivity than nonusers “between parts of the brain that are important for cognitive functions, such as working memory and coordination.”

Potter acknowledges the research that associates frequent marijuana use with short-term memory loss. But she says that possible side effect is much less dangerous than the downsides associated with many prescription drugs.

“Cannabis users may sometimes have a hard time remembering a word or phrase,” she says. “But if you OD on opioids, you stop breathing.”

Potter and others also underscore the recent evidence touting the therapeutic effects of cannabis. One particularly groundbreaking study in 2005 was summarized in the Journal of Clinical Investigation under the tongue-twisting title: “Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects.” To regular folks, that heralds the news that marijuana may actually promote cell growth in the brain — especially in older people, much like the far less controversial chocolate, tea, and blueberries.

Both empirical and clinical research have shown that the active ingredients in cannabis stimulate the frontal lobe of the brain, which is responsible for innovation and divergent thinking — both of which can produce practical benefits of improving the quality of life and making a person more apt to try out new, engaging activities.

Even more hopeful news: the newly generated brain cells may also help reduce anxiety and depression. That finding led to a flurry of researchers, including some from the vaunted Salk Institute for Biological Studies in southern California, to conclude that cannabis shows promise in treating Alzheimer’s disease.

Myth #3: Cannabis is Only for ‘Stoners’

Many people cling to the stereotype that marijuana is reserved for aging hippies or slacking Millennials living in their parents’ basements. But the laws recently passed throughout the country sanctioning the use of medical and recreational marijuana are starting to change that mindset.

Slick and stylish showrooms sprouting up around the country, such as The Apothecarium, staffed by medically knowledgeable sales associates, have allowed aficionados to shift from being labeled Stoners to the more respectable-sounding Cannabis Connoisseurs.

Potter says pot is rapidly becoming “the pill alternative for seniors.” In fact, recent research indicates that people age 65 and older who are experimenting with marijuana more than any other age group. A 2024 poll found that 21% of people age 50 and older reported using marijuana within the last year, while 12% did so at least monthly.

For Seniors: A Learning Experience

Finally, Potter stresses that seniors who wish to experiment with cannabis therapeutically, even those with experience, must learn to use it — especially given the recent attention to the dizzying number of ways it can be taken into the system: through various edibles and through suppositories, patches, topicals, tinctures, compresses, poultices, and salves — in addition to the most recognized form of smoking the flower buds.

“The motto is: Start Low, Go Slow,” Potter says. “Dosing is complicated and personal. You’re looking for that sweet spot of a minimal but effective dose. You must track yourself and be patient and keyed into yourself.”

These days, there is no shortage of help for the curious to check out using the privacy of their own computers. A few good resources:

• Jordan Tishler, a Harvard-educated doctor and cannabis specialist, maintains a website, InhaleMD, that includes lots of educational information, including a series of videos covering a range of topics from how to use a vaporizer to microdosing
• The formerly stodgy website, WebMD, includes a slideshow featuring basic facts about medical marijuana, and
• The United Patients Group offers research and resources for both patients and medical professionals interested in learning about cannabinoid compounds.

(This article has been updated December 2024 since it originally published August 2018.)