Will be over the age of 65. That means 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, cnns dr. Sanjay gupta takes us Around The World as he speaks to skeptics and advocates who are studying cannabis. Sanjay also meets with older users who say their Quality Of Life has quill proved because of marijuana. April 2023. Its a Picture Perfect spring morning near the Southern California coastline. Then well hear from seniorfriendly brands with recommendations and introductioned 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 cannabus. What happens is people who are seniors who may have a hard time actually getting to a dispensary, they get on this bus, they get some education, 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 cannabus veteran. And if that surprises you, it surprises her even more. Sure, i grew up in the 60s. It was weed at the time. You know. 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 its one of the Biggest Challenges of our health care system. There are too many pills. In fact, 1 3 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 cannabus. Theres such a stigma to it. But i want to be more knowledgeable about the cannabis. So thats why i came today. Reporter you get to know the other people on the bus here . Yes. Reporter have they become friends of yours . Yes. Yes, we do. We have a Cannabis Club. Reporter you have a Cannabis Club . Yes. Reporter what happens at the Cannabis Club . Well, 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 lived 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 fastestgrowing Consumer Group of cannabis in the United States. Reporter a lot has changed since 2013 when i first met Cannabis Pioneer and harvard professor 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 jellyfish, which is specifically formulated to try and ease insomnia and pain. And 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 out 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 School principal, mama sue, who opened her own dispensary dedicated to seniors. Working with the cannabis is like magic. Reporter and youve seen people get rid of their other medications once they 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 jellyfish 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. Dont race now. Id like to 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 ] reporter 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 so robin, 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. Reporter do you get nervous at all trying this stuff . A little bit. Reporter understandably nervous. After all, will it work . What are the concerns about harm . And is there any evidence behind all of this . Our Investigation Continues in the holy land of medicinal cannabis. We travel there next. 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. Fisher Investments in this market, youll find Fisher Investments is different than other Money Managers. other Money Manager different how . Arent we all just looking for the hottest stocks . Fisher Investments nope. We use diversified strategies to position our clients portfolios for their longterm goals. other Money Manager but you still sell investments that generate high commissions for you, right . Fisher Investments no, we dont sell commission products. Were a fiduciary, obligated to act in our clients best interest. other Money Manager so when do you make more money, only when your clients make more money . Fisher Investments yep. We do better when our clients do better. At Fisher Investments, were clearly different. Tide is busting laundrys biggest myth. That cold water cant clean. Cold water, on those stains . Cold water cant clean tough stains . Id say that myth is busted. Turn to cold, with tide. Tourists tourists that turn into scientists. Tourists photographing thousands of miles of remote coral reefs. That can be analyzed by ai in real time. So researchers can identify which areas are at risk. And help life underwater flourish. 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 Imba Wlchlt Sokoren was the head nurse at Balorim 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 come to see what i see. Reporter i met people like 80yearold moshe root. 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 moshe root has since passed away but the work and the tedious gathering of data continues. These are the growing fields of tikun olam, which translated means to repair the world. Its different from what you saw ten years ago when you were here . Reporter yes. Very different. Lihi bar Lev Shurlater is the director of research here. This will be reporter shes also 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 . That we can work in a general hospital, we can provide cannabis in a general hospital. Reporter now, 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 is consumed properly. 62yearold nama is a cancer survivor. She now deals with chronic pain. Were you taking opioids and other medications for pain . I 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. Okay. So nama, this is the vaporizer. We start now. Its a little bit different. It is different. Reporter a difference nama says she felt almost immediately. Wonderful. Great. Im not coughing. Reporter youre not coughing. I wonder how would it be later. But 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 do 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 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 haifa. What is the most challenging part of running one of the biggest labs at the m. I. T. Of israel . Dr. Dedi meri travels all over israel to medical schools teaching the physicians of the future. We are just starting to scratch the beginning of understanding this complex plant. Reporter his goal, to show how it all works. How cannabis could help treat so many different ailments using the endocannabinoid system. Think of it like this. We all have an endocannabinoid system. Which plays a role in just about every function in our body. Your body is constantly making what are called Endogenous Ka nab noids, which bind to receptors throughout the body. So for example, look over here. If someone were to have back pain, that could trigger their homemade cannabinoids releasing and attaching to cb1 receptors in the spine to help relieve that pain. Now, when the Endocan Binnoid System is working well, doctors call it homeostatic, a healthy balance. But heres part of the problem. This starts to change and diminish as we age. There is a big change in tone of endosome cannabinoids in older people. And, yes, i think older people are deficient in endocannabinoids. Reporter dedi believes we just stop making as much as we get older. And with fewer cannabinoids, seniors are more likely to lose that homeostasis, that balance. But dedi believes it can be restored by ingesting the cannabinoids in cannabis, which then bind to those endocannabinoid receptors and help rebalance the system. Are we deficient in certain endocannabinoids and youre replacing that by giving cannabis . Sometimes you need very low amounts just to make your body activate and do the other things. So 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, dedi 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 altogether you get the 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. You did great. Reporter ill explain why when we come back. He does. Were having triplets. No, what does that mean . It means youre gonna need more tide. See . Ah. More likes . More tide. Everyones. Gonna. Need. More. Tide youre gonna need more tide. This backtoschool season tide and downy are giving back with 1. 5 Million Dollars in scholarships. Enter to win. Rsv can be a dangerous virus. [sneeze]. For those 60 and older. Its not just a cold. And if youre 60 or older. 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Its Late AfternoonFebruary 2023 when i arrive at what some call israels san francisco, picturesque haifa. So you make this walk quite frequ