Seniors Are Flocking to Marijuana Topicals. Here’s Why.

Seniors and Cannabis Topicals: These Products are Gaining Popularity With Older Americans Seeking Pain Relief
As we age, many of us will begin to experience physical discomfort resulting from normal wear and tear, medical conditions or injuries. And that pain tends to become more pronounced in our later years.

It’s no wonder that despite comprising about only 15 percent of the U.S. population, seniors are prescribed more than one-third of all prescription drugs, many of them for pain relief. And more than 50 percent of older Americans (ages 57-85) take more than five medications or supplements daily. That puts seniors at a much higher risk of dangerous drug interactions and unintentional overdose.

It should come as little surprise, then, that seniors are increasingly turning to products such as cannabis topicals as a safe alternative for pain management. The wide-ranging health and wellness benefits of cannabis are especially useful for seniors. For example, plant compounds called cannabinoids have demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties, making them helpful for reducing pain associated with inflammatory conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Marijuana’s pain-relieving effects are backed by some pretty strong science, too. A first-of-its-kind, peer-reviewed study of nearly 3,000 patients in Israel, published in March in The New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrated that cannabis is safe and very effective for treating pain and reducing the use of pharmaceutical painkillers in older populations. Findings showed that the most common reason for cannabis use among people ages 65 and older was pain. After six months of treatment, nearly 94 percent of respondents reported improvement, with median pain level reduced by half. And more than 18 percent of those patients stopped using opioids or reduced their dose as a result of cannabis treatment.

Newer cannabinoid delivery methods have proven ideal for older consumers who are seeking the therapeutic benefits of cannabinoids without the intoxicating effects produced by ingesting or inhaling marijuana products.

Topicals such as Mary Jane’s Medicinals’ cannabis-infused salve, aloe lotion, and topical tincture are absorbed through the skin for localized relief and do not produce cerebral euphoria associated with other forms of cannabis consumption. They deliver healing relief from pain, soreness and inflammation through the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS) by activating cannabinoid receptors in the skin. And because they’re nonintoxicating and nontoxic, cannabis topicals can be used as a safe, long-term option for pain relief.

America’s senior population is rising, with nearly 10,000 baby boomers estimated to turn 65 years old every day over the next 15 years. And as public perception shifts toward cannabis acceptance, with approximately 62 percent of Americans now in favor of marijuana legalization—the highest number ever recorded by the Pew Research Center—I’m hopeful more seniors will be able to experience the therapeutic benefits of cannabis topicals.