27% Of Older Michigan Adults Used Pot In Past Year, U-M Poll Contends

ANN ARBOR – More than a quarter of Michigan residents age 50 or older have used cannabis products containing the psychoactive component THC at least once in the past year, according to a new University of Michigan poll released Thursday.

That’s a higher percentage (27%) compared with the 21% of people in this age group in the rest of the U.S. who say they’ve used cannabis in the past year.

The new findings come from the Michigan Poll on Healthy Aging, based at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. The poll is a nationally representative survey conducted by the research organization NORC at the University of Chicago for U-M. It was administered online and via phone in February and March 2024 to about 1,000 older adults in Michigan and 3,000 older adults living in other states.

Michigan is the largest cannabis market in the U.S. by volume, overtaking California — which has long been considered the dominant market — in recent years. Michigan, which starting allowing recreational sales of marijuana nearly five years ago, has a much younger market than California and a population that’s about a quarter of the size.

The poll did find that many older adults in Michigan say they use cannabis to treat a medical condition. Nearly half of Michigan residents who use cannabis at least once a year said they used it to treat a medical condition, while 66% of those who use it monthly said they used it for this reason.

Meanwhile, 70% of all those who had used cannabis in the past year, and 84% of those who had used it monthly, said they had done so to try to help them sleep.

The poll shows that older Michigan residents who use cannabis at least monthly were more likely than their peers nationwide to report at least one potential sign of dependence or addiction, U-M said, such as needing to use more cannabis than before to feel the desired effects, increasing the frequency or amount of their cannabis use or that using the same amount of cannabis had less effect on them than before.

“Our findings, in Michigan and nationally, show the need for more education and awareness, especially among those who choose to use cannabis more frequently,” Erin Bonar, Ph.D., an addiction psychologist and researcher at U-M who worked with the poll team on the analysis, said in a news release announcing the findings.

“Nearly every Michigander sees advertising for cannabis-related businesses on billboards, signs and other platforms in Michigan, but the risks from impaired driving, interaction with medications and addiction don’t get that same level of attention,” she said.

For example, 21% of Michigan residents age 50 and older who use cannabis products said they have driven within two hours of using cannabis at least once in the past year.

To view the findings, go to MichMed.org/4e2KW.