Senior Pot Related Er Visits Increase

Green and gray don't mix according to a California study. Pot-related emergency room visits for Californians over the age of 65 have exploded by 1,800% since 2005.

The "experts" think it is because these seniors were used to a milder pot in their youth and with the new high-potency pot, they may easily overdose on THC. These studies indicate that many of these high-times seniors didn't use it at all during their working years and after retirement decided to light up and enjoy life.

I can't find any info if there has been a resurrection of watching Cheech and Chong movies or bringing back low riders, but I bet that info will surface in time.

I don't fault any senior that uses it, but maybe advanced years users should take age-related interactions and higher potency into consideration.

 

Don't know much about pot and never used it (life's a big enough high) but suspect the legalization thereof has something to do with it. There's pot stores spring up like weeds around here. There seems to be growing evidence that pot doesn't do your brain any good; however, it can be argued that a healthy percentage of the population don't have brains that work very good.

 

My husband has been "a joker, a toker, and a midnight smoker" for about 50 years. He's still as sharp as a tack so apparently it hasn't had an adverse effect on him. Probably what keeps him so laid back that he can put up with me.

 

Funny, but the first time we told SIL (wife's older sister) that we buy/use CBD Salve and CBD Gummies, she really thought both were used to get high. All she knew was that CBD is derived from marijuana, but, ended up finding out that it's not what she thought it was. Since she is a very, very "straight" person, so she would never/ever use CBD for anything. But, her one daughter gives CBD to her teenage Autistic son to keep him calm.

Other than CBD, we don't use marijuana at all. Last time I had a joint/dubby, was back in 1975, when I was married to my first wife. Her brother use to make Bongs out of large/cooler type Sparkletts Water Bottles. And that was a very quick "high".

 

My nerves could benefit from lighting up a fat one with some benefit to my glaucoma, however, the issue that keeps me from such indulgence is my balance.

It might be of interest to some that for glaucoma, which is the worst at night, one would have to stay up all night smoking for it to replace the prescription drops.

So any benefit for glaucoma is out for me and while it would surely relax my overactive nerves, it would adversely affect my balance because of balance nerve loss, I have to "shine on" the Maryjane for either medical or recreational purposes.

I have tried CBD oil "salve" from hemp and it did very little good. While CBD oil from marijuana may contain some THC any "high" effect is minimal. While I found it worked better than the hemp-derived, the benefits for the cost were so minor it wasn't worth it.

I get 100 times the pain relief for muscles and joints from diclofenac sodium topical gel and it is low cost compared to CBD.

Maybe my inability to travel could be cured by popping a peyote button. I could post about my world tour and never leave my recliner. As long as I kept my happy ass sitting down, then my balance wouldn't be an issue.

I wonder how many doobietized seniors in the California study were in the ER due to falling since balance is an issue for many seniors.

 

There has been a myth around for years that you cannot overdose on THC. Definitely not true. No one dies of an overdose that I know about, but there are serious effects form too much dope. Heavy smoking or ingestion over long periods of time seems to affect decision-making abilities.

 

I think the key to understanding a study like this is that if we had studies of other drugs that send seniors to the ER to compare. One big one that comes to mind is oxycodone. Just thinking about senior folks that go to the ER for a panic attack because they ran out of their prescription oxy. I know more seniors that have gone to the ER from falling because of drinking than any other reason.

It reminds me of the old joke about the old poorly fitted denture-wearing lady suffering bad arthritis that popped aspirin like M & M candy. Getting on the bus realizing she forgot her aspirins, she yelled, "My ass burns my ass burns!" Then the driver with time being of the essence said, "Then stick it out the window."

 

I quit smoking weed when my dealer went up from $10 a lid to $12 so I definitely can’t see me spending upward of $30 for a gram even if I really liked it.
To be sure, about the only thing I got off on anyway was when a missed seed popped which to me, was hilarious.

When it came to using during my early post Vietnam days, I was an upper kind of person anyway. To me, the term “high” didn’t apply to pot because it made me “low and slow” and as the song warned, I got tired of sleeping on the floor.

In truth, I can’t say as I fault seniors for kicking back and maybe even try to mentally relive those days while they were free, mobile, happy and protesting something.
And I can’t fault someone who wants to smoke so as to relieve some pain or ailment that hampers them from living a good quality of life.
That said, seniors above all age groups should have enough wisdom and knowledge accrued through a lifetime of experiences when to say enough is enough or at least be cautious when using the stuff.

There’s an axiom of sorts out there that makes a very important warning for seniors. What do you NOT wish the EMS guys to see when they show up to save your life?
Personally, I can think of a lot of things that I wouldn’t want to be seen doing but a 70++ year old having to pay for an ambulance and hospital care because he or she overdosed on pot is a little out there.
Moreover, as a senior, try explaining it to an insurance company. “well dude, I was smokin’ some killer weed when everything went black”.

 

Yup. We seniors are still supposed to set an example and be able to impart a little wisdom now and then other than where to buy the best weed.

 

There are a lot of articles on marijuana's affect on the brain and none of them are good. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) attaches to the brain’s Cannabinoid receptors. These receptors connect to nerves in the brain which govern memory, appetite, pain regulation, and mood, all of which will be affected to some greater or lesser degree; however, the degree increases with use, especially prolonged use. This picture gets more complicated with addition of 'synthetic weed' (a.k.a. Spice, Mojo, etc.) which can be sprayed on regular plants or marijuana for a more potent 'experience'. "Synthetic weed binds more strongly to CB receptors than THC, making it more than 100 times more potent in the brain. Because CB receptors have multiple locations in the brain, side effects can be intense and harmful. These side affects can include, memory loss, stroke, seizures, kidney damage, brain damage, cardiac damage, paranoia. violent behavior, altered perception, etc. So, how do potheads know if they getting weed with synthetic additives sprayed on or when their brain turns to mush?

 

On a less serious note, I recall that humorist Jean Shepherd once said that "Beer is the mother of us all.." You may recall that Shepherd wrote the holiday classic "A Christmas Story."

 

I am definitely Not defending the use of alcohol but with beer or booze, at least the % of alcohol is stamped on the can or bottle and one can generally have an idea how they will react to it drink for drink. A person doesn’t Have to get drunk just to enjoy a drink or a can of beer and if one does start to get inebriated, one can stop and drink water to help sober up.

With pot, there’s only one reason to smoke the stuff and there’s no way to come back down until the effects wear off and no way to know how “high” one will get.