New Lisa Cini Survey Seeks to Gather Boomer Info on Marijuana Use
August 11, 2018
NEW YORK–Lisa Cini, the world’s leading expert on designing environments for seniors—to keep them at home or help them feel “at home” in assisted living—has launched a national survey to determine if and how today’s seniors are using marijuana.
“We know that many boomers who smoked pot when they were younger have either returned to using it or never stopped,” Cini says. “Perhaps the 333% increase in monthly marijuana use between 2002 and 2016 among seniors age 65+ is the result of its legalization in more places, its growing acceptance, its availability in more forms, or just fewer responsibilities that require keen alertness.
“Pew Research’s “Fact Tank” tells us that there are clear generational differences, with 70% of millennials, 66% of Gen Xers, and 56% of baby boomers thinking marijuana should be legal. Eventually, however, Gen Xers and Millenials will become seniors whose marijuana use will grow the numbers even more,” Cini added. “The trend is clear and needs to be accounted for by those of us whose job is making life better for seniors.”
Many of the surveys and studies referenced by the CDC on their web site address marijuana use with words like “abuse,” “dependence,” and “addiction,” terms that by definition place marijuana use in a negative light. The Cini Survey makes no such judgements, but simply seeks to discover the facts about how many baby boomers (those born approximately between 1946 and 1964) are currently using cannabis in any of its forms for medical and/or recreational purposes. The survey collects information on what forms of marijuana seniors are using, how often they use it, whether it’s for medical or recreational use, and even whether they live in states where it is or is not legal.
“The information we gather will help me and my team understand if and how marijuana use among our growing boomer population should be accounted for in the environments we create for them, in the products that we recommend for them, and even in ways we might suggest that a multigenerational household like mine can accommodate a senior’s marijuana use, ” said Cini.
To take the survey and share it, please visit: https://content.leadquizzes.com/lp/ZyyQC3WChA.
Cini will speak on the “Getting Turned on to Technology” executive discussion panel at HealthTAC West produced by Senior Living News at Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point, CA, August 19-21. Cini searches the globe for the latest tech products—think Sharper Image meets AARP—to help loved ones 50+ embrace living as they age, including wearable technology and products for improved mobility, safety, fitness, healthy living, memory assistance and companionship. One of the things she’ll stress on the panel is why it’s critical for operators to have the infrastructure in place to handle the technology residents themselves are bringing with them today.
Lisa Cini is an award-winning senior living designer and the author of BOOM: The Baby Boomers Guide to Leveraging Technology, so that you can Preserve Your Independent Lifestyle & Thrive (soon to be released), The Future is Here: Senior Living Re-imagined, and Hive, which describes her family’s multi-generational social experiment (four generations living under the same roof in her own home).