The University of Michigan (UM) reports that a new survey shows majority of seniors support medical marijuana. The university released findings from its National Poll on Healthy Aging on Tuesday. AARP and Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center at UM, sponsored the study. The poll surveyed a representative sample of 2,007 Americans aged 50-80.
The Poll
Dr. Preeti Malani of the University of Michigan specializes in treating seniors and was the director of the poll. She said that while not many older Americans have used cannabis medicinally, they are open to the idea.
“While just six percent of our poll respondents said they’d used marijuana for medical purposes themselves, 18 percent said they know someone who has,” Dr. Malani said.
“With medical marijuana already legal in 29 states and the District of Columbia, and other states considering legalizing this use or all use, this is an issue of interest to patients, providers and policymakers alike.”
Four out five poll respondents said that they supported medical marijuana when it is prescribed by a doctor. Forty percent also said they would support allowing all cannabis use.
Nearly a half–44 percent—replied “definitely yes” when asked if they would consult their doctor about medical marijuana if they had a serious condition that might respond well to it. More than a quarter said they probably would do so.
Seventeen percent were unsure, while only 13 percent said they definitely would not.
Alison Bryant, Ph.D. is the senior vice president of research at AARP. She noted that two-thirds of those polled said the government should conduct more research on medical marijuana.
“Although older adults may be a bit wary about marijuana, the majority support more research on it,” Bryant said. “This openness