ER visits for cannabis poisoning skyrocket for older folks

By Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D. on Jun 20, 2024

When country singer Kacey Musgraves sings "High Time": "... I've been too low, so it's high time," there are a lot of folks nodding their heads in agreement these days. A new study shows that for the first time in the U.S., daily or almost-daily marijuana users outnumber daily or almost-daily drinkers.

Many of the 18 million daily marijuana users think they've traded up -- for something that's "natural." Unfortunately, they're ignoring health hazards from smoking (COPD, cancer, heart disease) and from taking in marijuana's psychoactive chemical, THC, or any of the other 99 active components in the plant. Teens who use marijuana risk damaging their cognition and developing Cannabis Use Disorder. At any age, marijuana can exaggerate or cause depression, paranoia and anxiety.

Folks ages 50 and older are especially vulnerable to negative side effects, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine. Since cannabis was legalized in Canada, visits by older folks to the emergency room for cannabis poisoning (especially from edibles) have tripled! And that's reflected in U.S. data on the increasing number of older folks in the ER for the ill effects of synthetic and real cannabis. Symptoms of cannabis poisoning include muscle weakness, lack of coordination, slurred speech, and, with a big enough dose, amnesia, hallucinations and agitation.

So, if recreational marijuana is legal where you live, be aware of the potential hazards. Our advice: Cut edibles into quarters and don't re-dose for 90 or more minutes (it can take that long to feel the effects of the first dose), and don't smoke or vape at all.

Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iHerb.com, the world's leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers (four No. 1's).

Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.