Senior citizens high on legal marijuana

(25 Mar 2019) THE BUS ARRIVES PROMPTLY. IT'S 11 AM.
ABOUT 50 RESIDENTS AT THE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY OF LAGUNA WOODS, CALIFORNIA EAGERLY BOARD FOR TODAY'S OUTING.
BUT THIS ISN'T YOUR TYPICAL SHOPPING EXCURSION.
Nats inside store
SOUNDBITE (English) Kandice Hawes-Lopez, Bud and Bloom Community Outreach Director:
"People from 55 all the way to their 90's come here to learn about how to use cannabis to replace their current medications or even some seniors use it recreationally."
  
CANNABIS DISPENSARY BUD AND BLOOM PROVIDES A FREE SHUTTLE TO ITS STORE ONCE A MONTH FOR PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY.
WITH MEDICAL MARIJUANA OR RECREATIONAL USE LEGAL IN MORE THAN HALF THE STATES, MORE OLDER AMERICANS ARE TURNING TO CANNABIS FOR RELIEF AND RECREATION.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Gary Small, professor of psychiatry and aging at UCLA and director of the UCLA Longevity Center:
"This is an important time to try to study the effects of cannabis in older people because the older age group is the segment of our population that is showing the greatest uptick in cannabis use."
Like LAURIE LINDA. She USES CANNABIS NEARLY EVERY DAY...
Nats of Linda: "Ya I'll take a hit"
SOUNDBITE (English) Laurie Linda, Cannabis User:
"It makes me feel good! It keeps me from getting really upset and angry sometimes just watching the news it makes you want to go get a gun and I don't want to do that."
THE 76-YEAR- OLD SAYS SHE LIKES TO MIX THINGS UP - INCLUDING SMOKING IT, VAPING AND EATING CANNABIS-INFUSED TOFU.
Nats of Linda showing tofu: "And that's garlic on top of it."
SOUNDBITE (English) Laurie Linda, Cannabis User:
"I think people are a lot more open to it now because they are actually learning about it. We never used to see articles about it in the newspaper."
THE BABY BOOMER GENERATION WAS NOTORIOUS FOR INDULGING IN MARIJUANA DURING THE 1960S AND '70S...BUT MANY USERS CHANGED THEIR HABITS AS THEY GOT OLDER.
SOUNDBITE (English) Adele Frascella, 70, Uses cannabis:
"I used to do it when I was like 18, 19, 20 and had a baby, got married and stopped doing it. I missed it at times."
NOW AS THEY RETIRE, SOME PEOPLE ARE REDISCOVERING MARIJUANA, OR TRYING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME.
BUT EXPERTS SAY PEOPLE SHOULD TALK TO THEIR DOCTOR BEFORE GIVING IT A TRY.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Gary Small, professor of psychiatry and aging at UCLA and director of the UCLA Longevity Center:
"We have to be careful because we know that cannabis can cause side effects particularly in older people. They can get dizzy. It can even impair memory if the dose is too high or new ingredients are wrong and dizziness can lead to falls which can be quite serious."
  
BUT THAT DIDN'T SEEM TO WORRY THIS GROUP _ INFUSED WITH EXCITEMENT TO TRY OUT THEIR NEW PURCHASES.
KRYSTA FAURIA, ASSOCIATED PRESS, LAGUNA WOODS CALIFORNIA

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