Study of Baby Boomers and Pot

The scene was the Greensboro (NC) Coliseum in 1972.

The event was the Allman Brothers Band in concert.

And at age 18, it was the first of many major concerts I would attend.

The moment the lights went out, signaling the start of the show, the marijuana clouds began to billow.

I was an observer, not a participant, and I've never forgotten that amazing scene.

Fast-forward almost 40 years.

Baby-Boomer that I am (born in 1954), I read with great interest... and admittedly, amusement... a story we've featured in tonight's news.

The story is about Baby Boomers and marijuana.

The Associated Press reports a survey by the federal government found that among people 50 and older, the percentage using marijuana has risen from 1.9 percent in 2002 to 2.9 percent in 2008.

The age group 55 to 59 reported the most dramatic rise.  Their marijuana use tripled during the survey period, from 1.6 percent to 5.1 percent.

And observers say as the 78 million boomers (born between 1945 and 1964) age, their pot use will likely increase even more.

Are they turning "hippie" again, or did many boomers never completely give up the peace-love-drugs lifestyle?

The AP report notes smoking pot was something many of the boomers "at least tried in high school or college," and it "doesn't have the stigma it had for those born earlier."

The report goes on to say, "Some users are also looking for ways to cope with the normal aches and pains of aging."

Aches and pains of aging... now there's a subject I know something about.  While I don't let them stop me, I can't ignore them either.  They're too loud.

But a couple of Tylenol are as far as I'm willing to go to fight it.

Fourteen states allow medical use of marijuana to treat glaucoma, macular degeneration and other ailments.  A medical marijuana bill is in committee in the Alabama and North Carolina House of Representatives; medical marijuana legislation died in committee this year in the Mississippi Senate.

But studies note marijuana carries its own health dangers.  It's even harder on the lungs and heart than tobacco, and an older person dizzy from marijuana use could be at greater risk of falling.

As with anything you do that could affect your health, make sure you arm yourself with information first.

Among the many websites with information about marijuana:

http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofacts/marijuana.html

http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pot/a/effects.-Lya.htm

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/05/health/cbsdoc/main4844665.shtml