Cannabis use among seniors is soaring in Ontario along with cannabis poisoning: study – NOW Toronto

Cannabis use among seniors is quickly on the rise and as a result, so is the number of cannabis poisoning in Ontario, according to a new study.

The report by Dr. Nathan Stall was published in JAMA Internal Medicine last month. It looked into data examining emergency department visit rates for cannabis poisoning in older adults during three periods: pre-legalization (January 2015 to September 2018); legalization period one, permitting the sale of dried cannabis flowers only (October 2018 to December 2019); and legalization period two, permitting the sale of edible cannabis (January 2020 to December 2022).

During the eight-year study period, researchers found that there were 2,322 emergency department visits for cannabis poisoning in older adults aged 65 and older in Ontario between 2015 and 2022. The study notes that there was a large increase in cannabis poisoning not long after cannabis became legal and even more so, after edibles were legalized. 

“The largest increases occurred after edible cannabis became legally available for retail sale, a phenomenon similarly observed in Canadian children,” the study said.

“Possible explanations include increases in accidental ingestion; ease of access; lack of age-specific dosing instructions; and absence of safe and effective treatment options for chronic pain, sleep disturbances, and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia,” it continued.

Back in Oct. 2023, Statistics Canada conducted a National Cannabis Survey for the third quarter of 2019. This survey has been administered every three months since Feb. 2018 and it provides the latest information regarding cannabis use in the country.  

The survey found that cannabis use among seniors is accelerating at a faster pace than other age groups. In fact, 400,000 seniors used cannabis in the past three months since the survey was conducted, an increase of 40,000 users compared to statistics from 2012. 

“The increasing popularity of cannabis among older adults has also contributed to an increase in the average age of cannabis users, which has risen from 29.4 years in 2004 to 38.1 in 2019,” the survey adds.

In addition, the data found that about 578,000 seniors who use cannabis are actually new users. During the second and third quarters of 2019, more than one-quarter (27 per cent) of cannabis consumers were aged 65 and older. 

Though many were found to be new users, seniors were less likely to use cannabis on a daily basis. According to the data, seniors were less likely to report daily or almost daily use compared with those under the age of 65.

READ MORE: Canada legalized weed five years ago, this is how pot use has changed since then

One of the most common reasons for seniors using cannabis is for medical reasons. 

“More than half (52 per cent) of seniors aged 65 and older reported using cannabis exclusively for medical reasons, while the remaining seniors were evenly split between non-medical only (24%) and both medical and non-medical reasons (24 per cent),” the survey said.

In contrast, nearly 60 per cent of younger persons between the ages of 15 to 24 reported using cannabis exclusively for non-medical purposes, meanwhile more than one-third (35 per cent) reported consuming it for both medical and non-medical reasons. 

When it comes to obtaining cannabis, the survey finds that seniors were the most likely to purchase their cannabis from legal sources. About 41 per cent of consumers aged 65 and older say they are most likely to use only legally-obtained cannabis, in comparison to 23 to 29 per cent of younger consumers. 

The study says it’s common to obtain cannabis from other sources but mostly among young adults aged 15 to 24 with a percentage of 52 per cent and adults aged 25 to 44 with 43 per cent. Seniors were less likely to get their cannabis from an illegal source with only 23 per cent reporting this.

“Seniors (30 per cent) were also generally less likely than younger consumers (41 per cent to 46 per cent, depending on age) to have obtained cannabis from (or to have shared it with) friends and family,” the survey said.

Furthermore, cannabis growers were a supply source for only eight per cent of consumers and four per cent reported an unspecified source.

Details about the methodology for this study can be found here.