CANNABIS USE FOR ANXIETY AMONG OLDER ADULTS

Introduction Use and acceptability of cannabis has grown over the past decade due to the changing legal landscape and public perceptions of cannabis. There is also some evidence that cannabis use among older adults has increased as well. Anecdotal evidence suggests cannabis, when medicinally used, may help decrease anxiety-related symptoms. Little is known about the ways older adults use cannabis for anxiety. We examined older adults’ use of cannabis to treat anxiety in a clinic population. Methods We used data from 568 patients seen in a geriatrics clinic at the University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, who completed a self-administered survey over a period of 12 weeks. Participants reported characteristics of cannabis use including lifetime cannabis use, ingredients used (CBD vs. products containing THC), reasons for use (medicinal vs. recreational), frequency of use, sources of cannabis acquisition, consumption methods, targeted symptoms, and perceived helpfulness. We examined the prevalence of these characteristics among older adults using cannabis for anxiety and explored differences across older adults using cannabis for other symptoms. Results Overall, 14.4% (n=82) of older adults reported cannabis use within the past 3?years (recent users). Among recent users, 24.4% (n=20) reported using cannabis to treat anxiety (Figure 1). For those using cannabis to treat anxiety, the majority (70%, n=14) perceived cannabis to be extremely or somewhat helpful for anxiety whereas 15% (n=3) reported cannabis to be minimally helpful or not helpful at all for anxiety, and 15% (n=3) did not respond to this question (Figure 2). Compared to older adults using cannabis to target other symptoms, those using cannabis for anxiety are more likely to use products containing THC (p Conclusions Anxiety was a common reason for using cannabis among older adults. Overall, use of cannabis for anxiety is perceived to be helpful in alleviating symptoms. More research on cannabis in older adults is warranted including prevalence of use, efficacy in treating anxiety, and potential changes in concurrently prescribed anxiolytic medications as a result of cannabis use. This research was funded by: This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging T35 grant AG26757 (PI: Dilip V. Jeste, MD), the Stein Institute for Research on Aging, the Center for Healthy Aging, and the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology (Department of Medicine) at the University of California, San Diego.