Seniors turning to cannabis for sleep or pain relief are increasingly ending up in ERs due to overdose, drug interactions, and dizziness. Experts warn aging brains are more vulnerable to THC, with unclear benefits and rising safety concerns.
United States: Dr. Benjamin Han, a doctor at the University of California, San Diego, who specializes in aging and addiction medicine, points out how some older people, including his 76-year-old patient, struggle with sleeping.
“She had problems falling asleep, and she’d wake up in the middle of the night,” he stated.
“So her daughter brought her some sleep gummies” — edible cannabis candies, he continued.
“She tried a gummy after dinner and waited half an hour,” Dr. Han mentioned.
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Since there were no effects, she decided to take another gummy and then another one, making it a total of four over time.
"Cannabis Use Among Older Adults in US Hits Record High"
— Marc Landers (@marclanders) June 3, 2025
What's great about this, aside from the benefits seniors are getting, is over 65's consistently poll lower in supporting legalising cannabis. Thankfully, that's changing.
Cannabis use among older adults nearly doubled… pic.twitter.com/7jNiNHqiuU
Dr. Han tells people trying cannabis to begin with products that provide only 1-2.5 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, to start out slowly.
Each gummy the patient took had 10 milligrams of THC. She experienced both anxiety and heart palpitations, the New York Times reported.
The same symptoms might have left a young person unconcerned, though this person had high blood pressure as well as atrial fibrillation.
She went to the emergency room because she was so upset. After testing and examining the woman, the staff concluded she didn’t have a heart attack, and she was sent home.
Doctor Han said that Naomi’s only ongoing issue was embarrassment. What if, by falling, she injured herself because she was too lightheaded to keep her balance? He reported patients had been injured in accidents after taking cannabis.
What if taking cannabis had affected how her prescriptions worked?
“As a geriatrician, it gives me pause,” as Dr. Han mentioned.
“Our brains are more sensitive to psychoactive substances as we age,” he added.
Cannabis may be used as medicine in 39 states and the District of Columbia, and the same states also allow recreational cannabis use except in 15 states, as the New York Times reported.
Many recent findings have raised concerns about seniors who use cannabis because emergency beds and hospital admissions involving cannabis are increasing, and a study from Canada has found a link between them and dementia.
As older adults use climbs, “the benefits are still unclear,” Dr. Han noted. “But we’re seeing more evidence of potential harms.”
Many older adults try cannabis with the purpose of treating constant pain, issues sleeping, or mental health concerns.