Bong Hits for Boomers: Marijuana Smoking on Rise for Seniors

By: Edecio Martinez
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

MIAMI (CBS/AP) Some Baby Boomers aren't giving up smoking pot as they age. Others are coming back to it as they retire.

Photo: Perry Parks, 67, takes a puff of marijuana at his home.

In her 88 years, Florence Siegel has learned how to relax: a glass of red wine; a crisp copy of The New York Times, if she can wrest it from her husband; some classical music, preferably Bach; and every night like clockwork she lifts a pipe to her lips and smokes marijuana.

A survey by the federal government found the percentage of people 50 and older using marijuana went from 1.9 percent in 2002 to 2.9 percent in 2008.

The rise was most dramatic among 55- to 59-year-olds. Their reported marijuana use more than tripled from 1.6 percent in 2002 to 5.1 percent. Observers expect further increases as 78 million boomers born between 1945 and 1964 age.

Among them is Perry Parks, 67, of Rockingham, N.C., a retired Army pilot who suffered crippling pain from degenerative disc disease and arthritis. He had tried all sorts of drugs, from Vioxx to epidural steroids, but found little success.

About two years ago he turned to marijuana, which he first had tried in college, and was amazed how well it worked for the pain.

"I realized I could get by without the narcotics," Parks said, referring to prescription painkillers. "I am essentially pain free."

For many seniors, smoking pot was something they at least tried in high school or college and doesn't have the stigma it had for those born earlier.

But older users could be at risk for falls if they become dizzy and smoking it increases the risk of heart disease and it can cause cognitive impairment, said Dr. William Dale, chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Dennis Day, a 61-year-old attorney in Columbus, Ohio, said when he used to get high, he wore dark glasses to disguise his red eyes, feared talking to people on the street and worried about encountering police. With age, he says, any drawbacks to the drug have disappeared.

"My eyes no longer turn red, I no longer get the munchies," Day said. "The primary drawbacks to me now are legal."

Siegel bucks the trend as someone who was well into her 50s before she tried pot for the first time. She can muster only one frustration with the drug.

"I never learned how to roll a joint," she said. "It's just a big nuisance. It's much easier to fill a pipe."

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by ttkirish May 9, 2011 11:37 AM EDT: I will not vote for anyone who can not support Medicinal Marijuana.; Reply to this comment


by amaddalone July 27, 2010 3:52 PM EDT: You MUST vist my site at thedamtour.com. I'm way ahead of you on what 'seniors' want; Reply to this comment


by cool_cat7 June 1, 2010 5:55 AM EDT: Heck yeah, a baby boomer like myself at age 54, is pleased to know how marijuana helps me in the relief of my arthritis pain in the joints. So, I'm all for the complete legalization and decriminalization of Marijuana.; Reply to this comment


by maiingan March 17, 2010 2:17 PM EDT: I tried pot once and declined to do it again, but I kinda like this story. Many older people, and even some not so old, are constantly trying to diminish younger people's individuality and independence by warning them they'll "turn into their parents." Some pathetic types even report they've "turned into their mother" or maybe father as if it's something to celebrate. Now, there's nothing wrong with finding you share a trait with a parent which you previously had less admiration for. But we're all unique individuals, not drones. We Baby Boomers are ourselves, not our parents, and we don't have to move from one culture-imposed stereotype to another as we live on this wonderful planet Earth. I'm sharing these thoughts in support of individual self-determination; none about the laws regarding marijuana use.; Reply to this comment


by usadvisor101 February 25, 2010 6:58 PM EST: whats sad is we waste billions every year on, making sure mexican drug cartels make billions....what have we gained from this 50 year war?

time to stop the insane persecution of non violent pot smokers, and free up our jails and prisons. start focusing on the real crimminals. we have way to many problems going on right now,instead of tying up courts,police and the jails over such a harmless drug. why destroy peoples lives over a drug that the govt has spent 30 years trying to prove it causes cancer and destroys brain cells, and they still have not been able to.

get over it!!!; Reply to this comment

by Dgunner February 25, 2010 9:38 AM EST

WOW YOU MEAN ITS ILLEGAL? I GOT TO GET TO TOWN MORE OFTEN.I HAVE MASTERED THE GENERATION FORM OF RAISNG AND CULTIVATION WITH ALL NATURAL FERTLIZERS FROM ANIMALS FED WITH NATURAL FOOD AND I HAVE TO SAY THE PEOPLE I SHARE IT WITH CANT WALK AFTER FIVE BONG HITS.I AM NOW WORKING ON A HYBRID THAT HOPEFULLY WILL NOT CAUSE COTTON MOUTH . I AM DOING THIS BY MEASURING THE AMOUNT OF CHLOROPHYL AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF GROWTH TO SEE IF IT CAN BE INTERUPPTED AND CURB THE ALUM EFFECT OF THE BURNIG OF THE MARIJUANA ITSELF. COTTON MOUTH IS IN THE SMOKE NOT THE PAPER IT ROLLED IN . OTHERWISE CIGARETTES WOULD GIVE YOU COTTON MOUTH .

Reply to this comment


by AttentionDeficit February 25, 2010 11:58 AM EST: dgunner: good luck to you. i am too paranoid of the donut boys to grow my own. i vaporized, and cotton mouth occurs there, too


by x0xBrookersx0x March 4, 2010 4:11 PM EST: <3


by jherrer2 February 24, 2010 12:42 PM EST: Check this out and pass it around. The government should not be allowed to dictate what medical treatments we are allowed. Especially when they force us to use one of their biggest contributors 'Big Pharma'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCuD0Job-84

If you have trouble search youtube for: Marijuana is EXTREMELY dangerous! by erik27.

It is a crime what the government is doing! Pass this around to all your friends and family!; Reply to this comment


by quapawsix February 24, 2010 9:20 AM EST: As the song says it's evil looking mean and nasty your so full of bull Sam and it will hook you Sue and Johnny don't be such an ass Sam.; Reply to this comment

by Conservative_1976 February 23, 2010 12:07 PM EST

As an aging American who suspects that marijuana will be found to be genuinely helpful in the relief of arthritis and other aches and pains, I find it truly sad that anyone would try to make it more difficult for someone to use marijuana for relief of pain, improvement of appetite, or any of the other valuable uses of marijuana. The tax money that is wasted on marijuana arrests, prosecution, prison, and forced "treatment" costs the U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars every year, billions that are therefore NOT available for schools, health care, fighting terrorism, repairing our roads and bridges, and a hundred other vitally important social needs. Surely no one believes that imprisoning Americans for using a plant is a better use of our limited resources than educating our children, maintaining our infrastructure, and keeping our families safe from foreign terrorists?
Let's put the drug dealing criminals out of business and free up our tax dollars to meet America's real needs. Let's tax and regulate marijuana, and let's let ordinary Americans grow a little marijuana in their own back yards, maybe $100 a year for a permit to grow a dozen plants.

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by AttentionDeficit February 23, 2010 12:18 PM EST: That would work for me


by longtree-2009 February 23, 2010 5:41 AM EST: wondering if china has its citizens smoking pot, like we do here in the usa? we depend on china for money, our economy, products on store shelves and so much more. be interesting to know if china is a pot smoking nation especially since china rules our nation today. the only thing china has not done, yet, is garrison chinese troops here in the usa.; Reply to this comment