Health

Several groups say cannabis may help aging Americans manage pain

Published

2 years ago

June 10, 2024

Press Room

Several groups say cannabis may help aging Americans manage pain

For the first time ever, more Americans are using marijuana daily than those who drink alcohol every day.

That’s according to the Society for the Study of Addiction.

One group that has sharply increased its marijuana use is senior citizens over the age of 65. Many are using the substance for ailments in place of prescription drugs, but they are having difficulty accessing medical cannabis.

MORE AMERICANS SMOKE MARIJUANA DAILY THAN DRINK ALCOHOL, STUDY CLAIMS

“There is very real psychopharmacology associated with cannabis, and I hadn’t learned anything about that in medical school,” said Dr. Zachary Palace, a board-certified geriatrician.

“As I started to learn more about it, I realized it’s a medication that can really be used very safely in the geriatric population.”

Many older Americans are using marijuana for ailments in place of prescription drugs — but they are having difficulty accessing medical cannabis. That could change. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Palace is featured in a new video, alongside other physicians, patients and politicians, by the Commonwealth Project. Howard Kessler is founder of the effort, which is working to make medical marijuana more widely available, especially for senior citizens.

“Every day we are letting people suffer when we don’t have to,” Kessler said.

Other doctors are now specializing in treatment using cannabis. OB-GYN Dr. Melanie Bone says she sees success every day when it comes to treating senior citizens with marijuana.

Patients say it helps them sleep, makes them feel less drowsy than other prescription drugs — and others were able to stop taking morphine or opioids.

“Status quo was either to not teach at all or maybe a lecture,” she said. “It’s safe, it’s efficacious.” Her patients say it helps them sleep, makes them feel less drowsy than other prescription drugs and others were able to stop taking morphine or opioids.

“For 40 years, I always had pain with something, and now I don’t have it,” said one of Dr. Bone’s patients.

Since the Nixon administration, cannabis has been designated by law as a schedule 1 substance by the Drug Enforcement Association.

A worker organizes cannabis flowers before the opening of the first legal recreational marijuana dispensary in the East Village in the Manhattan borough of New York City, Dec. 29, 2022. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo)

“America’s public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse,” President Richard Nixon said in 1971 amid a crackdown on drug use.

Other schedule 1 substances include heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

“Schedule 1 says there’s no medical use for this substance, and it’s highly addictive and dangerous,” said Robert Kent, former White House general counsel of National Drug Control Policy.

MARIJUANA USE LINKED TO INCREASED ASTHMA RISK IN YOUTH, STUDY SAYS: ‘WORRISOME’ HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

The classification is more restrictive than Schedule 2, which includes cocaine, fentanyl and meth.

Kent has helped develop drug policy for almost 20 years. He worked as part of President Joe Biden’s White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

“Schedule 3 means there is a medical use,” former Massachusetts HHS Secretary Marylou Sudders said.

The Health and Human Services Department first recommended rescheduling for marijuana in August of last year. The agency determined cannabis had a use in the medical realm but that there were concerns about possible abuse or dependence on the substance.

“It’s an important move toward reversing longstanding inequities,” President Joe Biden said as the Drug Enforcement Administration moved to re-classify the drug in May.

A logo reading DEA Special Agent is pictured in the Office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on May 29, 2019, in New York City. (JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)

The DEA announcement was the last major hurdle for rescheduling. The move becomes official after the Office of Management and Budget signs off, followed by a public comment period.

Kent has helped develop drug policy for almost 20 years. He worked as part of President Joe Biden’s White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

“Everyone seems to be focused on commercial recreational marijuana. What I’ve been really hopeful for is it will open the door for so much more research to occur, and it’ll be much easier to do research,” Kent said.

“I’m particularly interested in research where we can look at use of cannabis, marijuana, as an alternative to prescribed opioids for treating pain and other medical conditions.”

“I’m particularly interested in research where we can look at use of cannabis, marijuana, as an alternative to prescribed opioids for treating pain and other medical conditions.”

Kent says some of the most promising benefits could be the reduction of overdoses.

“It is heartbreaking. Even [in] the most recent numbers from the federal CDC, we’re losing over 100,000 people a year to prescribed opioids,” Kent said.

Many senior citizens are now using cannabis to treat chronic pain, nausea from cancer treatment and other ailments.

Many senior citizens are now using cannabis to treat chronic pain, nausea from cancer treatment and other ailments. (iStock)

“Geriatric patients can be on 10 or more meds very easily, and there’s such a high risk of side effects,” Palace said. “The most impactful effect we saw was pain management. In most cases, they were able to either eliminate or significantly reduce the amount of opioids they were taking, and we didn’t see any side effects.”

The Commonwealth Project proposes a large-scale demonstration model in the state of Massachusetts, similar to Medicare.

“The government takes full responsibility for the health care of people 65 and over, period,” Kessler said. “That’s their job.”

DOCTOR WARNS OF CANNABIS-RELATED MEDICAL RISKS: LEGAL DOES NOT MEAN SAFE

Throughout the study, major payer providers would provide guidance and education to caregivers, pay for approved cannabis therapies for people 65 and over, and record the results.

“All it’s going to do is, in a structured, observed and controlled way, validate what we already know,” former Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts CEO William Van-Faasen said.

Kessler says tens of millions of people could be helped with the project — but others say more evidence is needed.

A nonprofit co-operative medical marijuana dispenser displays various types of marijuana available to patients in Los Angeles, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)

“I’m not sure that rescheduling — a lot of people think we’re going to have research falling from the sky as a result. I hope they’re right. But I’m a little skeptical because I think it takes money, more than anything, for that research to happen. And so far, bio companies — they don’t see marijuana as a super viable product,” said Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

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Sabet served as an adviser to the Clinton, Obama and Bush administrations. His organization believes cannabis should not be a substitute for medicine before treatments are FDA approved.

“Maybe it’s possible that the opioid manufacturers wouldn’t want it. I think we’re all open to it. Let’s study it, but let’s get the facts out right now. Seventy-five percent of people think that it’s harmless,” Sabet said.

“And they’re not realizing that it stays in your system for a while. It can cause these mental health breakdowns.”

Some doctors say rescheduling could lead to more studies and awareness about the benefits of cannabis.

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“I think the danger is right now, because you have so many states where there are products on the market,” Kent said.

“We should all understand there are seniors who are using — they’re going to these dispensaries in states that have legalized the use. And so it’s already occurring. I think actually Howard’s proposal would control it in a much more significant way.”

Bret Baier currently serves as FOX News Channel’s (FNC) anchor and executive editor of Special Report with Bret Baier (weeknights at 6-7PM/ET), chief political anchor of the network and co-anchor of the network’s election coverage. Baier is also host of FOX News Audio’s “The Bret Baier Podcast” which includes Common Ground, The Campaign, The Candidates and The All-Star Panel. He joined FNC in 1998 as the first reporter in the Atlanta bureau and is now based in Washington, D.C.

Health

Matt Damon’s Gluten-Free Diet Helped Him Lose 18 Pounds

Published

8 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Matt Damon’s Gluten-Free Diet Helped Him Lose 18 Pounds

Matt Damon’s Weight Loss: Actor Drops 18 Lbs with This Diet | Woman’s World

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Health

Deadly cancer risk could drop with single 10-minute workout, study suggests

Published

9 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Deadly cancer risk could drop with single 10-minute workout, study suggests

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A single 10-minute workout may trigger blood changes that help fight colon cancer.

That’s according to new research from scientists at Newcastle University, who found that exercise quickly changes the blood in ways that affect colon cancer cells in the lab.

In the study, the U.K. researchers exposed colon cancer cells to human blood serum collected immediately after exercise, finding that the cells repaired DNA damage faster and showed gene activity patterns linked to slower growth.

SPIKE IN DEADLY CANCER BEFORE 50 LINKED TO COMMON CONVENIENCE FOODS

The blood samples came from 30 adults who had just completed a short, high-intensity cycling workout that lasted about 10 to 12 minutes, according to a press release.

Even a 10-minute burst of intense exercise may send protective signals through the blood that affect colon cancer cells, researchers say. (iStock)

Samuel T. Orange, an associate professor at Newcastle University and one of the study’s authors, spoke with Fox News Digital about the findings.

“Our findings show that exercise rapidly triggers molecular changes in the bloodstream that can act directly on colon cancer cells, reshaping gene activity and supporting DNA damage repair,” he said.

COMMON OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATION SLASHES COLORECTAL CANCER RECURRENCE IN HALF

The results suggest that even brief activity can make a difference. “Every movement matters. Exercise doesn’t need to last hours or happen in a gym,” Orange added.

The research suggests that exercise quickly triggers changes in the blood that affect colon cancer cells and helps support DNA repair. (iStock)

One of the most surprising findings, according to the researcher, was how strong the biological response was after even a single workout.

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“Exercise altered the activity of more than 1,000 genes in colon cancer cells,” he shared.

Even brief bouts of activity can make a difference, the researcher said. (iStock)

The study findings suggest that the effect is driven by exercise-triggered molecules released into the bloodstream, sometimes referred to as “exerkines,” which act like chemical messengers and send signals throughout the body.

“Each time you exercise, you trigger biological signals that support health and resilience to diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease,” Orange said.

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The researchers cautioned that the study was conducted using cancer cells grown in the laboratory, not in patients.

The findings are based on experiments using colon cancer cells grown in the lab, not studies conducted in people, the researchers noted. (iStock)

The study involved 30 healthy male and female volunteers between the ages of 50 and 78. Their blood samples were used to carry exercise-triggered signals to cancer cells grown in the lab.

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“These findings now need to be replicated in people with cancer,” Orange said. “We also need to better understand the longer-term effects of repeated exercise signals over time.”

Despite the limitations, the researcher said the findings strengthen the case for exercise as an important part of colon cancer prevention.

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“Each time you move your body and get a little breathless, you’re contributing to better health and may help influence biological processes linked to bowel cancer,” he added.

Kelly McGreal is a production assistant with the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.

Health

Brain Health Challenge: Try a Brain Teaser

Published

20 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Brain Health Challenge: Try a Brain Teaser

Welcome back! For Day 4 of the challenge, let’s do a short and fun activity based around a concept called cognitive reserve.

Decades of research show that people who have more years of education, more cognitively demanding jobs or more mentally stimulating hobbies all tend to have a reduced risk of cognitive impairment as they get older.

Experts think this is partly thanks to cognitive reserve: Basically, the more brain power you’ve built up over the years, the more you can stand to lose before you experience impairment. Researchers still don’t agree on how to measure cognitive reserve, but one theory is that better connections between different brain regions corresponds with more cognitive reserve.

To build up these connections, you need to stimulate your brain, said Dr. Joel Salinas, a neurologist at NYU Langone Health and the founder and chief medical officer of the telehealth platform Isaac Health. To do that, try an activity that is “challenging enough that it requires some effort but not so challenging that you don’t want to do it anymore,” he said.

Speaking a second language has been shown to be good for cognition, as has playing a musical instrument, visiting a museum and doing handicrafts like knitting or quilting. Reading is considered a mentally stimulating hobby, and experts say you’ll get an even bigger benefit if you join a book club to make it social. Listen to a podcast to learn something new, or, better yet, attend a lecture in person at a local college or community center, said Dr. Zaldy Tan, the director of the Memory and Healthy Aging Program at Cedars-Sinai. That adds a social component, plus the extra challenge of having to navigate your way there, he said.

A few studies have found that playing board games like chess can be good for your brain; the same goes for doing crossword puzzles. It’s possible that other types of puzzles, like those you find in brain teaser books or from New York Times Games, can also offer a cognitive benefit.

But there’s a catch: To get the best brain workout, the activity should not only be challenging but also new. If you do “Wordle every day, it’s like well, then you’re very, very good at Wordle, and the Wordle part of your brain has grown to be fantastic,” said Dr. Linda Selwa, a clinical professor of neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School. “But the rest of your mind might still need work.”

So play a game you’re not used to playing, Dr. Selwa said. “The novelty seems to be what’s driving brain remodeling and growth.”

Today, we want you to push yourself out of your cognitive comfort zone. Check out an online lecture or visit a museum with your challenge partner. Or try your hand at a new game, below. Share what novel thing you did today in the comments, and I’ll see you tomorrow for Day 5.