In a way, you can’t blame them. Facing unending pain from chronic illness, trying to assuage the sorrow of losing a loved one, or just trying to combat the ever-increasing litany of physical problems associated with aging – today’s older adults are turning to illicit drug use in droves.
It can’t be a coincidence. But it is a growing problem and one that the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) laid out at the end of 2001. At the time, notes the report, an estimated 568,000 persons aged 55 or older – or 1 percent of all older adults in the U.S. – had used illicit drugs in the past month and over 5 million were “binge” alcohol users, including more than 1 million who were heavy alcohol users. Included in the report highlights was the troubling warning that the number of illicit drug users among older adults would likely increase in the coming years due to the aging of the “baby boom” generation.
Fast forward to 2010, and the prophecy is beginning to come true. Released at the end of December 2009, the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), available at http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k9/168/168OlderAdults.htm shows just how much illicit drug use among older adults has increased. An estimated 4.3 million adults aged 50 or older – or 4.7 percent of adults in that age range – had used an illicit drug in the past year, based on data from 2006 to 2008. Now the warning is even more specific: “High rates of lifetime drug use among the baby boom generation (persons born between 1946 and 1964), combined with the large size of that cohort, suggest that the number of older adults using drugs will increase in the next two decades.”
Specifically, the NSDUH summary states:
• Predictions indicate that by the year 2020, the number of persons needing treatment for substance abuse disorder will double among persons aged 50 or older as the baby boom generation moves into older adulthood.
• These changes have already begun, as indicated by recent increases in illicit drug use among persons aged 50 to 59.
• Illicit drug use is associated with many health and social problems, and age-related physiological, psychological, and social changes make older adults more vulnerable to the detrimental effects of illicit drug use.
• Many older adults also use prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs that could adversely interact with illicit drugs – and may themselves hold the potential for abuse.
• The magnitude of these changes and their potential impact make it imperative to understand and plan for the health care needs of this population. These needs include substance abuse prevention and treatment.
Read more about Illicit Drug Use Increases Among Older Adults
