Study: Boomers use cannabis for medical purposes more than millennials

A study carried out by the American cannabis company Verilife reveals that baby boomers, people aged 56 to 76, consume cannabis twice as much as millenials (aged 22 to 38). Half of the baby boomers surveyed said they used cannabis primarily for medical reasons, with 28% saying they used it solely for recreational purposes and 22% saying they used it for both.

The figures are completely reversed for the millenials surveyed: 49% said they only used for recreational purposes, 22% for medical purposes and 29% who used it for both.

Among the reasons millennials use medical cannabis, 27% say it relieves their chronic pain, followed by migraines (13%), managing nausea (11%), arthritis (8%), managing weight loss (8%), autism (8%) and irritable bowel syndrome (4%). For baby boomers, arthritis was the most common reason for medical cannabis use (15%), followed by chronic pain (13%), cancer (11%), migraines (8%), to manage weight loss (8%), nausea management (8%) and autism (7%).

Among millennials' recreational uses, 34% said they used cannabis to relax, while 23% said they used it for social reasons, 22% for anxiety, 9% to help them sleep and 5% to improve physical activity. For baby boomers, relaxation was the main reason for recreational use (42%), followed by anxiety (17%), socializing (17%) and improving physical activity (17%).

The most widespread consumption method is still combustion. Baby boomers prefer capsules at more than twice the rate of Generation Y (23% to 10%), while other methods such as edibles, vaping and tinctures are used in similar proportions.

The survey also suggests that baby-boomers' cannabis consumption increases more than millennials during the coronavirus pandemic, with 44% of baby boomers reporting that their consumption had increased, compared to 36% of millennials.

The study is available on the Verilife website.