Health
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.
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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.”
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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.”
Health
Switching from cigarettes to vapes linked to higher risk of major eye diseases, large study finds
US cigarette smoking drops to record low, vaping and nicotine pouch use surges
Fox News medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discusses a New England Journal of Medicine study reporting US adult cigarette smoking rates dropped to a record low of 9.9% in 2024. Siegel warns about the addictive nature of vaping and nicotine pouches, which contain high levels of nicotine. He expresses concern over potential GI tract and heart issues, stressing social media’s role in promoting these products to younger generations.
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Switching from cigarettes to electronic vapes is often seen as a healthier move, but a massive nationwide study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology suggests that smokeless alternatives could increase the risk of serious eye diseases compared to quitting nicotine altogether.
Researchers from the Korea University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, analyzed health data from a group of 179,273 adults through the Korean National Health Insurance Service, according to a press release.
All participants had smoked traditional cigarettes between 2011 and 2012 and then quit smoking by 2018 or 2019, they reported.
SINGLE WORKOUT CUTS CRAVINGS, OFFERING NEW HOPE FOR SMOKERS TRYING TO QUIT
To ensure a fair comparison, the researchers paired up participants who shared similar backgrounds, including their age, gender, medical history, existing health conditions and general lifestyle habits.
Switching from cigarettes to electronic vapes is often seen as a healthier move, but a large study suggests it could pose a risk to eye health. (iStock)
This process created a balanced group of 32,316 matched participants, who were divided into two categories: complete quitters who stopped using all nicotine products and those who transitioned to smokeless nicotine products, such as vapes.
The researchers followed the participants for an average of 4.6 years to determine whether they developed eye conditions, including cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and focus-related eyesight disorders.
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Over the tracking period, the group experienced a total of 6,328 major eye disease events. People who quit nicotine entirely had the lowest disease rate in the study, at 41.1 cases per 1,000 person-years (a measure that accounts for both the number of people in the study and how long they were followed).
In comparison, that rate rose to 44 cases for individuals who had switched over to smokeless alternatives like vapes.
The people included in the study were divided into two main categories: complete quitters who stopped using all nicotine products, and switchers who transitioned to smokeless tobacco or nicotine products, like vapes. (iStock)
Ultimately, the data showed that switching to alternative nicotine products carried a steady 7% increased risk of serious eye diseases compared to quitting nicotine completely.
FOOD CHOICES THAT CAN BOOST YOUR VISION AND PROTECT AGAINST EYE DISEASE
Most notably, those who switched faced a 24% higher risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, a condition that damages the blood vessels in the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.
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Additionally, those who ditched cigarettes for vapes had a 7% higher risk of developing refractive and accommodation disorders, which affect the eye’s ability to focus clearly.
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“These findings challenge the assumption that substituting noncombustible nicotine or tobacco products for conventional cigarettes is visually harmless,” the researchers noted.
“These findings challenge the assumption that substituting noncombustible nicotine or tobacco products for conventional cigarettes is visually harmless,” the researchers noted. (iStock)
The authors did point out a few limitations of the research. Because this was a study looking back at health insurance data, it cannot definitively prove that vaping directly causes eye damage.
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Additionally, the study relied on people filling out questionnaires about their own smoking and vaping habits, which can sometimes lead to underreporting or simple memory errors.
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Still, the researchers concluded the findings suggest that replacing cigarettes with alternative nicotine products may not eliminate the risk of certain eye diseases.
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The latest COVID-19 vaccine (2024-2025) has been linked to fewer serious heart-related events among U.S. veterans.
New research confirmed a small reduction in COVID-related cardiovascular events, or COVID-19-associated MACE, due to the vaccine.
MACE (major adverse cardiovascular events) is a composite measure of serious heart-related outcomes. It typically includes cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke, and may also include hospitalization for heart failure.
VACCINES FOR FLU AND COVID: SHOULD YOU GET BOTH AT THE SAME TIME?
Using health records from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the researchers compared two groups of veterans — one that received the COVID and flu vaccine on the same day (nearly 350,000 people) and another group that received only the flu vaccine (nearly 700,000 people).
For people older than 75, vaccine effectiveness against COVID-associated MACE was 50.7%. (iStock)
Out of more than one million veterans studied, the average age was about 70 and 92% were male, according to a press release.
Within about eight months, the results showed that those who received the 2024-2025 COVID vaccine had a lower risk of COVID-associated major cardiovascular events, with a relative vaccine effectiveness of 37.7%.
The COVID vaccine was linked to a 57.9% lower risk of cardiovascular death, 38.5% lower risk of heart attack and 41.9% lower risk of hospitalization for heart failure, the researchers stated. The result for stroke was not statistically significant.
SCIENTISTS PINPOINT WHY COVID VACCINE MAY TRIGGER HEART INFLAMMATION IN CERTAIN PEOPLE
The benefit was greatest among adults ages 75 and older and those with underlying health conditions. In people over 75, the vaccine was 50.7% effective at preventing COVID-associated MACE.
As the study was observational, it could not prove cause and effect between the COVID-19 vaccine and lower risk of cardiovascular events, but only highlighted an association.
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Dr. Glenn Hirsch, cardiologist at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado, called these results “not overall surprising” in an interview with Fox News Digital.
After eight months, those who received the 2024-2025 COVID vaccine had a lower risk of COVID-associated major cardiovascular events. (iStock)
“This result is consistent with previous studies of the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines against infectious diseases [in] preventing cardiovascular events, including heart attack, cardiovascular cause of death or hospitalizations,” he said.
Acute inflammation in the body from infections like COVID-19 increases the risk of cardiovascular events and can cause further complications, according to the doctor.
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“This can lead to a higher risk of blood clotting, but can also make arterial plaques susceptible to rupture, which then leads to clot formation to heal a ruptured plaque,” he said. “This clotting can cause a near-total or complete occlusion of an artery, leading to these cardiovascular events.”
“Vaccines either prevent infection or reduce the severity of infection and subsequent inflammation, lowering the cardiovascular risk.”
Acute inflammation in the body from infections like COVID-19 can increase the risk of cardiovascular events, the study suggests. (iStock)
Despite the positive outcome, the overall benefit of the vaccine in this study was less than in previous studies, according to Hirsch, who was not involved in the research.
This could be due to the lower severity of illness seen in more recent COVID-19 variants, as well as immunity from prior infections among unvaccinated people, he noted. There has also been a decline in COVID testing, making it more difficult to link cardiovascular events to the virus.
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“The bottom line [is] that there is still evidence of benefit from COVID-19 vaccination like many other infectious disease vaccinations, and people should be encouraged to discuss these with their healthcare team annually,” Hirsch advised.
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“This is an observational trial and there can always be some confounding after necessary statistical adjustments and other potential benefits or harms, including adverse effects from vaccines that were not investigated in this study,” he added.
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