There are some old geezers puffing on that wacky weed.
That surprises some people, but it shouldn’t when you realize that those twenty year olds who were jamming to Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock are celebrating their 70th birthdays this year.
The twenty year olds guffawing at the hijinks of Cheech and Chong in “Up in Smoke,” which came out in 1978, are now 51.
And you’re surprised that generation is imbibing with a little Mary Jane? They were the generation that brought marijuana into mainstream, and are carrying their social experiences into their golden years now that social attitudes and state laws are opening up to the decriminalization of wacky tobacco.
In 2018 the Journal of the American Medical Association found patients using Medicare Part D dropped their use of opioid prescriptions by 14% after states legalized marijuana.
Jax Finkel, Executive Director of Texas NRML, a marijuana advocacy group, says as people reach an age when health becomes of greater concern, the generation that was receptive to marijuana in their younger years are most open to exploring its health benefits. “THC helps with Alzheimer’s,” she tells KTRH News. “Cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma. That may be one that people joke about but it’s real life for a lot of people. And it’s really effective.”
In the 2018 election in Texas, 53% of votes were cast by people over the age of 50. Expect future medical marijuana proposals to face little opposition from the demographic most inclined to vote.