{"id":6411,"date":"2024-05-20T15:20:12","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T15:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=6411"},"modified":"2024-05-20T15:29:28","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T15:29:28","slug":"legalized-weed-is-landing-more-seniors-in-the-e-r","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=6411","title":{"rendered":"Legalized Weed is Landing More Seniors in the E.R."},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-1n0orw4 e1wiw3jv0\">In Canada, cannabis poisonings rose sharply among people 65 and older after the country legalized the drug, a new study found.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-bo4jmi e12nqm5i0\" id=\"link-48c52eb0\"><span>The News<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As more places legalize marijuana, policymakers and health officials have worried about the health risks that the drug may pose to adolescents. But a new study suggests that an additional demographic is at risk: seniors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The study, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamainternalmedicine\/fullarticle\/2818635\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine<\/a>, found that after Canada legalized marijuana, the number of emergency room visits for cannabis poisoning rose sharply among people ages 65 and older. Poisonings doubled after Canada legalized sale of the cannabis flower, and then tripled just 15 months later, when Canada legalized the sale of edibles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s often a baked good, a chocolate or a gummy,\u201d said Dr. Nathan Stall, a geriatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital and researcher at Women\u2019s College Hospital in Toronto, and lead author on the study. Dr. Stall noted that researchers and emergency room doctors were finding that seniors used drugs intentionally but also sometimes by accident, when edibles were mistaken for regular food or snacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27900531\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Symptoms of cannabis poisoning<\/a> can include dizziness, confusion, nausea, loss of coordination and balance, drowsiness and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC10202677\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">hallucinations.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The findings were consistent with other research published in the United States, Dr. Stall said, and showed that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/11\/16\/well\/mind\/medical-marijuana-seniors.html\" title>more attention needed to be paid to drug use by seniors<\/a>, and to the health effects.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s somewhat in the shadows, and there is some ageism and bias in thinking that older adults aren\u2019t using drugs,\u201d Dr. Stall said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-medium css-mqw7kw e1g7ppur0\" aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-figure\"><\/div><figcaption data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\" class=\"css-gbc9ki ewdxa0s0\"><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">Edible marijuana samples at a cannabis testing laboratory in Santa Ana, Calif.<\/span><span class=\"css-1u46b97 e1z0qqy90\"><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Chris Carlson\/Associated Press<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-vlsv4n e12nqm5i0\" id=\"link-306c96ec\"><span>The Study<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The study looked at 2,322 emergency room visits for cannabis poisoning among people 65 and older in Ontario. The visits spanned 2015 through 2022, allowing researchers to see what happened before and after October 2018, when Canada legalized the sale of dried cannabis, and January 2020, when the sale of edibles was legalized.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In 2015, there were 55 emergency room visits caused by cannabis poisoning. That figure rose steadily to 462 by 2021, and then fell off slightly to 404 in 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dr. Stall said he was motivated to undertake the study after being called into the emergency room to consult on an octogenarian who was experiencing severe confusion. The patient was barely conscious and showed strokelike symptoms. Multiple tests revealed no clear cause, until Dr. Stall ordered a toxicology test and found cannabis in the patient\u2019s urine.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F20%2Fscience%2Fcannabis-seniors-poisoning.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F20%2Fscience%2Fcannabis-seniors-poisoning.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F20%2Fscience%2Fcannabis-seniors-poisoning.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F05%2F20%2Fscience%2Fcannabis-seniors-poisoning.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Canada, cannabis poisonings rose sharply among people 65 and older after the country legalized the drug, a new study found.The NewsAs more places legalize marijuana, policymakers and health officials have worried about the health risks that the drug may pose to adolescents. But a new study suggests that an additional demographic is at risk: seniors.The study, published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that after Canada legalized marijuana, the number of emergency room visits for cannabis poisoning rose sharply among people ages 65 and older. Poisonings doubled after Canada legalized sale of the cannabis flower, and then tripled just 15 months later, when Canada legalized the sale of edibles.\u201cIt\u2019s often a baked good, a chocolate or a gummy,\u201d said Dr. Nathan Stall, a geriatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital and researcher at Women\u2019s College Hospital in Toronto, and lead author on the study. Dr. Stall noted that researchers and emergency room doctors were finding that seniors used drugs intentionally but also sometimes by accident, when edibles were mistaken for regular food or snacks.Symptoms of cannabis poisoning can include dizziness, confusion, nausea, loss of coordination and balance, drowsiness and hallucinations.The findings were consistent with other research published in the United States, Dr. Stall said, and showed that more attention needed to be paid to drug use by seniors, and to the health effects.\u201cIt\u2019s somewhat in the shadows, and there is some ageism and bias in thinking that older adults aren\u2019t using drugs,\u201d Dr. Stall said.Edible marijuana samples at a cannabis testing laboratory in Santa Ana, Calif.Chris Carlson\/Associated PressThe StudyThe study looked at 2,322 emergency room visits for cannabis poisoning among people 65 and older in Ontario. The visits spanned 2015 through 2022, allowing researchers to see what happened before and after October 2018, when Canada legalized the sale of dried cannabis, and January 2020, when the sale of edibles was legalized.In 2015, there were 55 emergency room visits caused by cannabis poisoning. That figure rose steadily to 462 by 2021, and then fell off slightly to 404 in 2022.Dr. Stall said he was motivated to undertake the study after being called into the emergency room to consult on an octogenarian who was experiencing severe confusion. The patient was barely conscious and showed strokelike symptoms. Multiple tests revealed no clear cause, until Dr. Stall ordered a toxicology test and found cannabis in the patient\u2019s urine.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6413,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6411"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6414,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411\/revisions\/6414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}