Medical Marijuana Gets Wary Welcome From Older Adults, Poll Shows

The National Poll on Healthy Aging notes although few older adults use medical marijuana, the majority support its use if recommended by a doctor, reports ScienceDaily . The poll included 2,007 Americans between 50 and 80, and found 80 percent of respondents said they support allowing medical marijuana if recommended by a physician. Moreover, 66 percent agreed the government should do more to study the drug's health effects. More than 66 percent believed marijuana can ease pain, while about 50 percent thought prescription pain medications were more effective. Slightly less than 33 percent of respondents felt marijuana definitely provides pain relief, and 38 percent said it likely does. However, just 14 percent thought marijuana was more effective than prescription pain medication, while 48 percent did not and 38 percent believed the two were equally effective. Forty-one percent also thought it would be easier to control dosage with medication. Meanwhile, nearly half of those surveyed believed prescription pain medicines are more addictive than marijuana, and 57 percent said that such medications have more side effects than marijuana. "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 recipients, providers, and policymakers alike," says the University of Michigan's Preeti Malani.