Illicit Drug Use on the Rise among Older Adults

New research, published in The NSDUH Report, suggests that the number of older adults using drugs will increase over the next two decades. The report attributes this to high rates of lifetime drug use among the baby boomer generation combined with the large size of that group.

As a result, by 2020, the number of people needing treatment for substance abuse will double among people age 50 and older. Age-related physiological, psychological and social changes can make older adults more vulnerable to the negative effects of drug use, and many prescription and over-the-counter medications commonly used by older adults could interact adversely with illicit drugs.

NSDUH acknowledges that reducing and treating drug abuse problems among the growing elderly population will require "an integrated system of care that combines medical and behavioral health services to fully address the spectrum of problems that patients bring to the primary care setting."

Additionally, NSDUH recommends that healthcare providers who specialize in treating the older adult population add routine screening to their regular interactions with their patients.

Additional findings from the study:

• 4.7 percent of adults aged 50 or older (about 4.3 million adults) used an illicit drug in the past year
• Marijuana use was more common than nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs for adults aged 55 to 59, but among those aged 65 years or older, nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs was more common than marijuana use