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Drug Use Rising Among Seniors; Baby Boomers Continue Using, SAMHSA Says
January 11, 2010

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Research Summary

A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) finds that 4.7 percent of Americans age 50 and older used illicit drugs during the past year, a figure that's on the rise and reflective of lifelong drug use by aging Baby Boomers, experts said.

SAMHSA said the report, Illicit Drug Use Among Older Adults, presages a possible doubling in need for treatment services among older Americans in the next decade. "This new data has profound implications for the health and well-being of older adults who continue to abuse substances," said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde. "These findings highlight the need for prevention programs for all ages as well as to establish improved screening and appropriate referral to treatment as part of routine health care services."

The report found that 8.5 percent of men ages 50-54 used marijuana during the past month, compared to 3.9 percent of women in the same age group. Marijuana use among older Americans was more prevalent than nonmedical use of prescription drugs, SAMHSA noted.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by Bill Godshall on 12 Jan 10 10:51 AM CST
While some illegal drug usage by senior citizens poses health risks, the most harmful drug usage by senior citizens is the simultaneous usage of many different legally prescribed drugs. Senior citizens typically use at least five (and many use more than a dozen) different legally prescribed drugs at the same time, and many of these drugs have negative interactions with each other. If SAMHSA was truly concerned about public health, it would focus its efforts to reduce harmful drug usage instead of illegal drug usage. But doing so would require confronting policies by other government agencies that encourage exessive legal drug usage and that financially reward physicians, healthcare insurers, and drug companies at the expense of public health.

Posted by Eric E Sterling on 12 Jan 10 11:24 AM CST
Reading the report, I conclude: (1) We need harm reduction education for seniors to help them prevent adverse drug interactions. (2) We need to refine the term non-medical use in these surveys. Using medications that were not prescribed for the respondent does not mean abuse; it may mean necessary drugs are too difficult to get via bureaucratic health insurance regimes or are too expensive. The report defines these medications as "illicit drugs" rather than defining the narrow context of the drug use as illegal. (3) Can SAMSHA ever get intellectually honest and stop calling all marijuana use "abuse"? (4) Why issue this report without comparable data on tobacco and alcohol use? Unfortunately, on the whole, this is a superficial report that lends itself to inflammatory headlines, unwarranted fears, and poor policy making.

Posted by bill on 12 Jan 10 11:34 AM CST
I am shocked that SAMSHA thinks the % is this low

Posted by doogiem on 13 Jan 10 11:19 AM CST
I enjoyed your posts, BG and ES. Well thought out; well written.

Posted by Diane Deitz on 13 Jan 10 11:40 AM CST
I agree with Mr. Godshall's comments, and would like to comment further on this article. As the baby-boomer generation ages, there will be a growing population at risk for adverse consequence from prescription medications that are misused, abused, and inappropriately prescribed. Drug use forecasting suggests an escalation in substance dependent and abusing adults over age 50 - and there is little doubt that many of these individuals are misusing legal substances such as prescription medications. This trend will produce increases in the need for services that are age-specific, substance-specific, and clinically relevant. Barriers to comprehensive medical treatment need to be addressed; including overprescribing practices, the disparity between managed care coverage for medical and behavioral health care claims, and inadequate access to drug abuse screening.

Posted by Brian McDonough on 15 Jan 10 10:14 AM CST
being a 'baby-boomer' myself, i have seen first hand this problem. what is distrubing is the subject of non-medical use of Rx drugs.why? self-medication must be looked into for this age bracket,(along w/all the others), because the combination of prescribed meds w/ the non-medical use of Rx drugs can have a terrible outcome.studying to be a substance abuse counselor, i can tell you this is a big problem getting bigger.we must educate the people & find ways to get help to 'the woodstock generation' before it's too late.

Posted by Brinna Nanda on 16 Jan 10 10:58 AM CST
Of course, SAMSHA includes cannabis in the "illicit drug" category. However, since, cannabinoids are useful in the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of ailments including stroke, trauma, diabetes, cancer, auto-immune disorders, glaucoma, insomnia, MS, lack of appetite,Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, it only makes sense that computer-savvy baby-boomers, who are able bypass government propaganda streams, and can access accurate information, will use it for many age-onset illnesses. I don't call this "drug-abuse," and as a baby-boomer, find it rather amusing that such a use is deemed worrisome and in need of intervention.