Cannabis use among seniors is up 46% as Trump moves to reclassify marijuana. Here's what it could mean for pot stocks

President Donald Trump signed an enforcement bid connected December 18, 2025 that expedites the reclassification of marijuana, meaning it would beryllium considered a little unsafe drug.

Reclassification would marque it easier to behaviour probe connected aesculapian marijuana and for Medicare and Medicaid recipients to entree cannabidiol (CBD) products. It could besides spur concern successful an manufacture that’s seen its stock of ups and downs.

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This comes astatine a clip erstwhile cannabis usage among boomers is, well, booming. The fig of Americans aged 65+ utilizing cannabis for aesculapian purposes roseate from 4.8% successful 2021 to 7% successful 2023, a 46% leap successful conscionable 2 years according to a NYU School of Global Public Health survey published successful JAMA Internal Medicine (1).

Marijuana is presently classified arsenic a Schedule I substance nether the Controlled Substances Act, a class that besides includes heroin, LSD and ecstasy (which are considered to person a precocious imaginable for addiction oregon abuse, with nary recognized aesculapian use).

The enforcement bid aims to reclassify marijuana arsenic a Schedule III drug. Drugs that autumn nether this category, which see Tylenol with codeine and anabolic steroids, are considered to beryllium little addictive and person imaginable aesculapian uses.

A increasing request from seniors, opportunities for technological probe and a wide national model could service arsenic a catalyst for investors. But it’s inactive a volatile market. After all, reclassification doesn’t mean cookware is afloat ineligible astatine a national level and it would inactive beryllium treated arsenic a controlled substance.

States person a confusing patchwork of laws astir the usage of marijuana. Some person afloat legalized it, portion immoderate person decriminalized it and/or let it for aesculapian use. In immoderate states, it’s inactive afloat amerciable (2).

Overall, there’s increasing enactment astatine a authorities level, successful enactment with changing user sentiment, with enactment for the legalization of marijuana rising from 36% successful 2005 to 70% successful 2023 (3).

Not lone is cannabis usage surging among seniors, but the NYU probe finds that cannabis users thin to beryllium married, college-educated and person precocious incomes (4). “The researchers besides recovered important increases successful cannabis usage by older adults with chronic diseases — and notably, those with aggregate chronic conditions — including bosom issues, diabetes, hypertension, crab and chronic pulmonary obstructive disease,” according to NYU (5).