Baby boomers pose cannabis problem
Thursday April 5th, 2012
Britain is facing a generation of elderly people who have been taking illicit drugs for much of their lives, according to research published today.
A
study of people aged 50 to 64 has found more than ten per cent of them
report having taken cannabis throughout their adult lives. However only
about a fifth of these admitted to recent use of the drug.
This compares with just 1.7 per cent of those over the age of 65 who report having been users of cannabis.
A person who is 65 now was 20 in 1967 when psychedelia and hippy cultured exploded on the youth scene.
In central London, researchers found, more than 40 per cent of those over 50 reported being cannabis users - while nine per cent of these had taken the drug in the last 12 months.
The findings, reported in the journal Age and Ageing, come from a study of nearly 4,000 people over the age of 50.
Researcher Professor Robert Stewart, of King's College, London, said: "The key message of this paper confirms something which has been long-suspected but which has not, to our knowledge, ever been formally investigated in the UK – namely that illicit drug use will become a more common feature in older generations over the next 1-2 decades.
"One particular issue is that we really know very little about the effects of drugs like cannabis in older people but will need to work fast if research is to keep up with its wider use at these ages."
* A second study, from Australia, fins that psychological distress in elderly people is strongly linked to inability to be active.
The study involving nearly 100,000 people found a four times increase in mental illness among people who were functionally limited.
Researcher Dr Gregory Kolt, of the University of Western Sydney, School of Science and Health, said: "Our findings can influence the emphasis that we place on older adults to remain active.
"With greater levels of physical activity, more positive health gains can be achieved, and with greater physical function (through physical activity), greater independence can be achieved."
The findings were reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Prevalence of illicit drug use in people aged 50 years and over from two surveys’, Fahmy, Hatch, Hotopf, Stewart, Age and Ageing, doi: 10.1093/ageing/afs020
Tags: Drug and Alcohol Abuse | Elderly Health | Fitness | Mental Health | UK News
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