America's Baby-Boomer Potheads Are Toking More—and More Openly

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/americas-baby-boomer-potheads-are-toking-more-and-more-openly



As US marijuana laws evolve and society distances itself from previous prohibitionist attitudes, the baby boomer generation (born roughly 1946-1964), is smoking pot at an ever higher rate—or at least more of them are admitting it. As of 2011, 6.3% of adults between ages 50 and 59 reported using marijuana, up from 2.7% in 2002, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. "There's a resurgence of interest in pot and psychedelics in baby boomers," Rick Doblin, executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, tells The Fix. "Many of them had experience with these substances in college, then gave them up for their families and careers. Now that they're retiring and no longer working, they're more open." Doblin, who is 59 and has been a regular toker since he was 17, says his marijuana use has become more "work-oriented" as he's gotten older. "I better understand how to use [pot] for activity rather than just relaxation," he explains. "It goes terrific with exercise and physical labor. Older people understand this better."

Doblin says the stigma of pot has decreased in recent decades, and many baby boomers now have a "longer-term perspective" about marijuana after witnessing scare stories blow over. "We've watched for 40 years and have found a lot of these claims [about the dangers of pot] to be untrue," he says. Many older adults also feel freer to use the drug now that their children have grown up and left home. Though not all of them are completely open about it. "What's so ironic to me is how many people grew up hiding marijuana from their parents," says Doblin, "and now they're hiding marijuana from their kids."

In addition to recreational use, boomers are increasingly using pot to medicate the physical effects of aging. Medical marijuana is now legal in 11 states and can be purchased from dispensaries. "A lot of retired people have aches and pains," Doblin says. "[Pot] promotes health and reorients your view of physical pain or stress." Hal, 56, a restaurant worker from New Jersey who is sometimes on his feet for 12-hour shifts, tells The Fix that he uses pot as a replacement for prescription medication. "Through our whole life, people are self-medicating somehow," he says, "I'd rather smoke pot than take pills."

Robin, 65, says "dope" (marijuana) has become "fairly common" among aging adults in the Boston suburb where she lives. "My feeling is that it is like alcohol—for some people it's fine, and for some it's an issue," she tells us. "Most of the adults I know who smoke it are pretty functional. They use it as a sedative more than anything else—as a relaxant, in place of drinking." Compared to alcohol, she says pot is "a much safer drug in a lot of ways, because you're not as impaired. You can drive; you just drive too slowly, rather than too fast or carelessly." She adds that pot seems "benign," saying: "people don't go into murderous rages when they're stoned, but they can when they're drunk." But while most of her generation is capable of managing their marijuana use, she sees the drug as more of a problem among younger people. "It concerns me when I see young twenty-somethings who do nothing but smoke it," she says, "but I don't see it as a problem for [older] adults."

[Kolesar]

1. Uh, no, you can't drive

But you can shred the half pipe at Mt. Hood

[Fumesucker]

2. Hiding from the grandkids becomes an issue too

Some of that going on within my extended family, two medical professional kids would not let the grandkids see grandma if they knew she was toking up but they drink regularly and one of them keeps a cheek full of Skoal. Combined income of well over a hundred grand and yet they're borrowing money from grandma and grandpa whose income is about a quarter of that.

It's just weird how many medical professionals fall for the anti cannabis propaganda, I can think of several I know.

[socialist_n_TN]

3. Anecdotally, I've been seeing this for about a decade now....

Boomers gave up reefer when it became more restricted during the Reagan years to keep it from their kids. When the kids grew up (and sometimes became tokers themselves-I know mine did), they felt freer to go back to it. I don't think they ever bought into the worst of the scare stories about it. They knew it was pretty benign, but it became more socially unacceptable AND more legally problematic, so they stopped. After all, you don't want your kids to have to face potential jail time, so it was easier not to model that behavior.

When they're grown and gone, light up!

[brush]

4. Wait, I thought weed was the "gateway drug"?

Remember all that propaganda about how marijuana use led to heroin and/or cocaine use, et al?
What a crock of shit that was.

But most of us knew that, but it became prudent to not even get into arguing that.

[William769]

5. I do not partake it's just my personal choice.

But most of my friends do and it doesn't bother me. The second hand effect must be wearing on me though, I even let them do it (pot that is) in my home now.

[xchrom]

6. i smoke ciggies -- but outside -- pot just doesn't seem to leave

a smokey imprint on a room later.

[William769]

7. I smoke outside also.

Helps curb from chain smoking (especially this time of the year). You are right about the pot not leaving a imprint.

[xchrom]

8. I knew I liked you...

[marmar]

9. "I'd rather smoke pot than take pills."

De acuerdo. Unlike pharmaceuticals, marijuana is, to quote Ben Harper, "herb the gift from the earth
and what's from the earth is of the greatest worth"

[Go Vols]

10. I know alot

of 50+ people that would smoke if they weren't subjected to drug test at work.

[JNelson6563]

11. There are still so many

who buy into the propaganda against pot. I know a gal at work, only three years older than I and she just shuts down if pot it mentioned. She's terrified of it. Raised her daughter to be the same. She recently bragged at work about how her daughter (age 25) was at a party where pot was smoked. The daughter is so uncomfortable in the presence of pot she left the party, even leaving her boyfriend behind.

I asked her whatever will her daughter do when pot is finally legal. She had no response. I think she was expecting high praise for raising her daughter to hold that view and was surprised that didn't happen.

I really wanted to say she and her daughter need to grow up but didn't. Of course she has no problem with alcohol.

Julie

[Avalux]

12. Weed is not physically addictive; does not destroy the body.

There really is no comparison to alcohol, which when consumed chronically and misused - kills.

You could smoke weed every day for a year and stop cold turkey with absolutely no physical withdrawal symptoms. You may think you need it psychologically, but your body wouldn't freak out. And as we've been reading as of late, health benefits from weed are becoming more and more apparent.

For older people who suffer from chronic pain problems where highly addictive opiate pain killers are prescribed, weed is definitely the far superior option for pain relief.

It's no surprise so many baby boomers partake.

[Eleanors38]

13. 65-yr-old on SS checking in...

In some circles (ahem) it's called Green Cross - Green Shield, and beats hell out if a host of drugs requiring more side-effect caveats than the finance charge schedule on the back of a Visa billing.

Besides, whatter they gonna do, fuck with my career?