More people requiring more frequent and advanced medical care which often means more pills. But theres a growing movement in the medical and the Scientific Community thats urging less pills and more plants. They look at marijuana as a potential life changer for those suffering from agerelated conditions like chronic pain, insomnia, anxiety, even alzheimers disease. But does cannabis really work for seniors and is it safe . Over the next hour, dr. Sanjay gupta takes us Around The World as he speaks to skeptics and advocates who are studying cannabis. He also meets with older user who say their Quality Of Life has improved because of marijuana. April 2023. Its a Picture Perfect spring morning near the Southern California coastline. Some recommendations and introductions for you about it. Reporter a scene is unfolding that i can hardly believe. We made our way to laguna woods. This is a Retirement Community around here and im about to do something that i havent done before. Get on this bus which is known as the cannabis. People who are seniors who have a hard time getting to a dispensary, they get on the bus, they get some education, and then theyre taken to the dispensary. Were going to tag along to see how it all goes. So what are we doing today . Whats about to happen here . Well, were going to have some fun. Reporter 72yearold barbara oiler is a cannabis veteran. If that surprises you, it surprises her even more. Sure, i grew up in the 60s. It was weed at the time. And it was something you stayed away from because it was scary. Reporter but as the years went by, her body started to betray her, a bad knee, painful back. Given the choice of opioids or cannabis, her decision was easy. There are so many seniors who know what the value of using cannabis is because at our age, the joints, the aches, the pains, the, you know reporter there are too many pills. Onethird of all americans in their 60s or 70s take five or more Prescription Pills every day. You believe that cannabis can help replace what the medications are 100 . Reporter thats incredible. I truly do. Reporter 56yearold robin savage was more hesitant. This was her first run on the cannabis. I want to be more knowledge about the cannabis. Thats why i came today. Reporter you get to know the other people on the bus here in. Yes reporter have they become friends of yours . Yes. We have a Cannabis Club. Reporter what happens at the Cannabis Club . We get together and talk about cannabis. Reporter between 2015 and 2018, cannabis use in seniors over 65 jumped 75 . These are the people who live through Reefer Madness as well as the war on drugs. Im against legalizing marijuana, even if the commission does recommend it be legalized, i will not follow that recommendation. Older adults represent the Fastest GrowingConsumer Group in the United States. Reporter a lot has changed since 2013 when i first met cannabis pioneer dr. Stacey gruber. While she doesnt appear to have aged much, the average age of her patients, older, much older. I think when we think about cannabis and older adults, theres a very clear and steep trajectory over years that seems to be continuing upward. Probably because of increased availability and increased interest. I think its a trend were likely to continue to see. Reporter and its a trend some people are betting the farm on. Welcome to one of the largest cannabisgrowing operations in the world. This is Glass House Farms and were about 15 miles south of santa barbara, california. What youre going to find here is six greenhouses, each one about 15 Football Fields in size, which means they can grow about a million and a half pounds of weed every year. One of the plants that they grow here, for example, is something known as jelly fish which is specifically formulated to try and ease insomnia and pain. Heres the thing, just about every plant that is grown here is designed with seniors in mind. I did not realize how big this was going to be. Wow. Reporter when you look at all of this, what do you see . My first thought is that what if all the pharmaceutical drugs that all the seniors are taking, taking now, what if it was replaced with all of these plants . Plants over pills. Reporter 75yearold sue taylor is a Brand Ambassador here at glass house. Shes an unlikely believer and now a messenger for cannabis use in seniors. If you said to me, oh, youre going to be the trusted face of cannabis, i would say, oh, youve been smoking too much. Reporter what was your perception of cannabis . I thought it was a drug like cocaine, like crack cocaine. This was a stigma. Reporter but over the last decade, the perceptions, the stigma, and, yes, the face of cannabis has changed. It was before the mama sue came out. Reporter to this face, a senior, former Catholic Schoolteacher who opened her own dispensary. Working with the cannabis is like magic. Reporter and youve seen people get rid of their other medications once they get start taking cannabis . Time after time after time. Reporter but none of this is easy. Initially, many seniors were skeptical, worried about getting high. I dont like feeling high. I just dont. And i think most seniors are that way. Reporter its why sue teamed up with The Glass House dispensary team and their fields of high cbd jelly fish plants which mama sue says makes it less about getting high and more about getting relief. Thats what the seniors on the bus told me they wanted as well. Pain relief. Better sleep. Less anxiety. Better Quality Of Life. And not getting stoned. Here you go, sweetie. Bring in our special Guest Speaker which is sue taylor. [ applause ] thank you. My life didnt begin until i was in my 50s. 60s, out of this world. 70s is off the chain. [ laughter ] honestly, it all feels a little off the chain. Seniors, some of them older than my own parents strolling a Marijuana Dispensary in search of a way to change the face, the pace, the struggles of aging itself. Reporter were you using Something Else before no. Getting other things too. Reporter so it really helps you. Really. Reporter what did you end up with here . Im going to venture off and try a flower roll which is good for relaxation and helping you sleep. Do you get nervous at all to try this stuff . A little bit. Understandably nervous. After all, will it work . What are the concerns about harm . Is there any evidence behind all of this . Our Investigation Continues in the holy land of medicinal cannabis. We travel there next. After advil. Feeling better . On top of the worlddddd before advil. Advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. When pain comes for you, come back fast with advil liquigels. 5 all you can eat pancakes are back to celebrate ihops 65th anniversary. So come on in. Even if its your birthday, too. Available for a limited time only at ihop. Download the app and start earning free food. Jitterbug [ Giggles Loudly ] jitterbug [ Giggles Loudly ] jitterbug [ Giggles Loudly ] jitterbug [ Giggles Loudly ] [ tapping ] you put the boomboom into my heart intuitive sittostart in the allelectric id. 4. Its the little things, its a vw. Woman why did we choose safelite . We were loading our suv when. Crack safelite came right to us, and we could see exactly when theyd arrive with a replacement we could trust. Thats service the way we want it. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Almost exactly ten years ago to the day, i returned to what many call the holy land of medical marijuana, israel. And it was here about a decade ago outside of tel aviv, i met a group of seniors who were using cannabis to treat everything from their pain to their posttraumatic stress, to their tremors, even their anxiety. What have the last ten years been like for you . Wow. Reporter the head nurse at a nursing home back in 2013. I was pretty skeptical of this. Did you think you were going to be able to change my mind . I prayed for. I wanted everybody to see what i see. Reporter i met people like this 80yearold. For too long, he says, he suffered from debilitating tremors and insomnia. He says cannabis worked for him and it was the only thing that did. You dream, you fly. Reporter when you smoke . Yeah. Reporter for me, it was the first time i had seen Something Like this, seniors over and over again using cannabis to sleep better, to gain weight, improve mood, reduce pain. Scientists at tel aviv university, they also took notice of this studying the initial results and calling them outstanding. Ten years later, he has since passed away but the work and the tedious gathering of data continues. These are the growing fields of to repair the world. Its different from what you saw ten years ago when you were here. Reporter yes. The director of research here. This will be reporter shes one of the reasons israel has been such a world leader in medicinal marijuana. For us back then it was everything we wanted to achieve, but that study led us to different understanding of the treatment in the elderly. Reporter the final Research Results were published in 2020 and they found a sharp improvement in the patients medical conditions and a decrease in Prescription Drug usage. Once again, more plants. Less pharma. Where does israel stand with regard to using cannabis in seniors compared to the rest of the world. We can work in a general hospital, we can provide cannabis in a general hospital. Reporter this is something that may surprise you. But in israel, not only is cannabis regularly used as a medicine, cannabis is often given in hospitals with specialized training to make sure it was consumed properly. 62yearold namma is a cancer survivor. She now deals with chronic pain. Were you taking opioids and other medications for pain . Tryi tried ten years before. I stopped work. I could hardly walk. It was difficult and it was terrible. Reporter her life is so different now. She couldnt even get out of bed back then but is now a thriving yoga teacher. Her visit today is to learn how to vape cannabis instead of smoking it. So in israel at the moment, we have too much people using by smoke. Its not good for your health. Okay, you want to sit down . I think its going to be more easy for you. Reporter keep in mind as you watch this, were in a clinic in a hospital. This is a treatment that theyre administering. Namma, we start now. Its a little bit different. It is different. Reporter a difference namma says she felt almost immediately. Wonderful. Great. Im not coughing. Reporter youre not coughing. I wonder how would it be later. Right now, its wonderful. Its nice. Nice. Reporter again, what really struck me about all of this as i sat there, was that this was all happening in a hospital. Its not a secret anymore. Its not behind the table. So this is a huge change. Reporter but i want to be clear, change is never easy. Not even here in israel. Do you get resistance . Some of them are really against still. They didnt learn about the cannabis. They dont know about how to use it. Reporter and so you have to continue to seek knowledge. As we did. 60 miles north in the shimmering port city of hyfha. What is the most challenging part of running one of the biggest labs at the m. I. T. Of israel. He travels all over teaching the physicians of the future. We are just starting to scratch the beginning of understanding this complex plan. Reporter his goal, to show how it all works. How cannabis could help treat so many different ailments using the indough cannabinoid system. Think of it like this. We all have an indo nab annoyed system. Your body is making homemade cannabis which bind to receptors throughout the body. Look over here. If someone were to have back pain, that could trigger their homemade cannabinoids releasing and attaches to receptors in the spine to help relieve that pain. When the system is working well, doctors call it homostatic. But this starts to change and diminish as we age. There is a big change in tones in older people. And, yes, i think older people are deficient in indo cannabinoids. Reporter he believes we stop making as much as we get older. And with fewer can nab annoyeds, seniors are more likely to lose that balance. But he believes it can be restored by ingesting the cannabinoids in cannabis which bind to the receptors and help rebalance the system. Are we deficient in certain indocannabinoids. Sometimes you need very low amounts just to make your body activate and do the other things. Starting the engine, it might do it by itself. Reporter its a different way of thinking. Instead of just treating a specific malady like pain, he says cannabis is teaching the body to care for itself. Instead of taking many pills for each indication, cannabis can affect all of that. A little bit of pain. A little bit of appetite, a little bit of mood, a little bit in the sleep. But the whole together, you get improving the Quality Of Life. And i think that older people, we can really, really, really help them with cannabis. Im 62 and i think its even better when i was 22 or 42. Now its the best time of my life. Reporter its all so hopeful and audacious. In fact, now some even believe cannabis could help with one of the most challenging and one of the most untreatable, alzheimers. Ill explain why when we come back. Tv try Tide Power Pods with 85 more tide in every pod. Who needs that much more tide . crashing sound he does. Mom were having triplets. No, what does that mean . It means youre gonna need more tide. See . Baby ah. More likes . More tide. The more adorable . More tide. Everyones gonna need more tide. Youre gonna need more tide. Its a mess out there. 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You hope the more you give the less theyll miss. But even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past. They may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. Although uncommon, up to 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. Now as youre thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need, make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. Youve worn many hats, from past jobs in fact. Now, you can trade in those hats to help earn your grad cap your past experience can help you earn your degree faster and for less. Its late afternoon, february 2023. When i arrive at what some call israels san francisco. Picturesque hyfa so you make this walk frequently to visit your father . Yes. Im glad im coming to make him happy. Reporter i meet up with 69 ruthie, energetic, lively and above all, a very good daughter. I know that he have memories but he cannot work with them. Reporter its been a rough road for her father, joseph. What was he like before the dementia . He touch everybody. Reporter was he very warm . Very, very warm. Reporter but then two years ago, after his diagnosis, something changed. Something that happens to nearly 90 of patients with dementia. He started to be angry, shouting, hitting. It was very, very scary. Reporter im sorry. Yeah. I knew that this is not my father. When patients with dementia start having aggressiveness, the Family Members are in a very terrible situation. Reporter a geriatrician at a nearby hospital, shes been on a mission to try and treat what so far has been almost always untreatable. The first thing in the medications that you give them are the antipsychotics. Medications that can increase their probability to they can kill them. The doctor gave us medicine for him, but he start to be like a zombie. Reporter she had an idea for older patients like joseph based upon what she had seen with some of the youngest. When i saw that ka nan boyds are approved for epilepsy and children, i thought, if it can help here, they might help in the behavioral disturbances of dementia. Reporter it was a simple theory. During a serizure, the brain ha sudden outbursts of Electrical Energy and that can lead to physical outbursts. She thought the same thing might be happening in dementia patients, leading to behavioral outbursts. It was tested in so many clinical trials. Reporter so with the help, they put it to the test. 60 patients, average age 79, half got the cannabis oil which is 30 cbd and 1 thc. The other half got a placebo, and no one knew who got which. After 16 weeks, there were no serious side effects in either group. But the