Pot-Puffing Seniors Are the New Stoners

Pot smoking is on the rise among seniors—and not the high-school variety. Marijuana use among those over 50 jumped
from 1.9% to 2.9% between 2002 and 2008; among those 55 to 59, reported
use tripled to 5.1%, and some experts expect that number to get, ahem,
higher, as baby boomers continue to age. While some boomers who tried
it decades ago never stopped, others are revisiting the habit in
retirement, either for recreation or as a way to cope with the aches
and pains of aging.

"They're missing a lot of fun and a lot of relief," says one
88-year-old daily smoker of her more straight-laced peers. She's not
the only one who likes the idea of more seniors getting in on the
action. "For the longest time, our political opponents were older
Americans who had lived through the Reefer Madness
mentality and considered marijuana a very dangerous drug," says a
legalization advocate. "Now, whether they resume the habit of smoking
or whether they simply understand that it's no big deal and that it
shouldn't be a crime, in large numbers they're on our side of the
issue."