Marijuana Use Among Adults 50 Years or Older in the 21st Century Is Rising
The older adult population in the United States will dramatically increase in the upcoming decades. By 2050, the population 65 years or older will increase to an estimated 83.7 million people (Colby & Ortman, 2014; Ortman, Velkoff, & Hogan, 2014). The Baby Boomer generation, consisting of births from 1946 to 1964, constitutes a large proportion of the current older adult population (Ortman et al., 2014). The United States will experience a unique set of challenges as the older adult population increases, including increasing disease comorbidities and risk of mortality as well as increased drug use compared with previous older generations (Colliver, Compton, Gfroerer, & Condon, 2006; Wu & Blazer, 2011).