Mostly the title. I guess I don’t understand why it seems like mostly young people are the ones struggling with drug addiction? Maybe there’s a large demographic of old people who do abuse drugs and they’re just not well known. Old people just seem to be the perfect group for drug abuse (few responsibilities, extra money/time). Thank you for your answers.
Edit: woah! Thanks to everyone for the answers! I should’ve clarified I meant hard illegal drugs like heroine, meth, and fentanyl. This question came from watching the movie Cherry and Tom Holland’s character was talking about the difficulties associated with be a drug addict. Thanks again everyone, some really insightful conversation below!
Comments
Drug abuse doesn’t exactly lead to a long life expectancy
We absolutely do
Many of them have tried drugs and didn’t find them to be the answer. Also, a lot of people who were predisposed to drug abuse already have been there and done that. Some of those people are already passed away and some have recovered and moved on. And finally, some of the old people that you assume aren’t on drugs actually are on drugs and are just good at hiding it.
Elderly people are vulnerable members of society and as a result tend to withhold a lot of information that could hurt their ability to collect insurance or even have it in the first place. Mental illnesses or cognitive decline in general can often be very closely guarded secrets by the elderly. Drug addiction is also one of those things that are difficult to bring up with anyone, let alone elderly who likely don’t have too many people their age or maybe even a lot of family at all to confide in or be held accountable to.
So i think the issue is more related to it being quiet suffering than it not existing.
They do
A: young people on drugs tend to draw more attention
B: people abusing drugs don’t tend to live long lives
C: lots of old folks addicted to prescription drugs just chilling at home waiting for hospice to give them the good stuff
There’s a great book that I’ll have to find again that explains this well.
But in short, young people don’t understand risk. They know there is risk, but they don’t really understand it.
It’s like smoking, people over 26 years old basically have an almost 0% chance of starting to smoke. Because by then we start to understand what the risk is, what it looks like.
It’s the same reason that car insurance is higher before that age.
Young people are more likely to “risk” things and so get addicted, injured, killed etc, because they don’t really understand the risk.
I feel like this is sort of like “If there is no god, why not just start murdering people” but a different kind of edgy.
They don’t want to.
My Grandma who has two glasses of wine a month has no desire to pop molly at a rave. The only abuse of drugs she’s doing is accidental abuse by accidentally putting 3 pills in one section of her pill sorter.
The hangover
Some do.
I once had this lady, 72 I think, came in to the ER for an opioid OD. She admitted to snorting heroin, apparently her and her friends.
She swore her and her friends had never don’t anything fluke that before. Said they were retired and bored.
You should look up the Oxycodone scandal and how it left a huge number of opioid addicted people in their wake. Oxycodone was prescribed to pretty much anyone and was pushed by the drug reps hard even though the drug companies knew it was highly addictive. Many of those people, when the easy prescriptions dried up, ended up on heroin and other hard drugs to cope with the harsh withdrawals they experienced.
some people just handle it better than others
We’re trying man, it just knocks us on our ass
among the many good points in the comments I’ll add that our brains don’t fully develop until mid/late 20s, so on top of lack of experiential learning, younger brains are much more susceptible to the “rewiring” that substances can cause (the physical aspect of addiction). [edited a bit for clarity]
I’m in my 50’s, never tried illegal drugs; I always say I won’t try pot until I’m 65 and retired, but I’m not even sure I’ll try them then :).
Besides the need to overcome 60 years of conditioning, I don’t like losing control of my mind. Don’t like getting drunk, or the ‘high’ of Codein or similar stuff, which I’ve taken once or twice when indicated (it’s been a couple of times). I normally take just ibuprofen even when given Codein.
My dad recently passed of cancer, and we talked about getting him pot to increase his apetite, he didn’t want it, for similar reasons.
EDIT – Oh, and I drink very little alcohol now, since I get a lot more gastritis, and hangover symptoms even with little alcohol :). Getting old sucks 🙂
They do abuse them. Prescription pain killers, Xanax, adderall refilled every 30 days.
Why does a 70 year old need adderall?
A lot of younger doctors are trying to really cut down on prescribing controlled substances because their elderly patients are addicted.
It’s fucking sad.
They do. Drug use is actually way higher with old people than you would think.
Old people get prescriptions for the drugs they abuse.
Obviously you don’t know many old people. They’re on a fuckload of prescriptions.
HIPAA regulations prevent you asking them unless you’re a doctor or cop, and they dont legally need to tell you.
Most old people are on an absolute fuckton of pills, drugs, everything they can find. Doc can give you anything you can find on the street, and oh boy do they.
Old people aren’t shooting heroin or smoking crack, they’re sucking fenty pops and popping greenies. Pharma can fuck you up with pills, patches, candy, drinks, anything you want.
It’s really easy for an old person to pass being shitfaced in public, because they just act like they’re old.
Yeah most of what you know as the “old people” stumbling, forgetfulness, whatever is due to more drugs than Hunter S Thompson
We don’t shout about it.
They might misuse prescription drugs instead
I think accessibility might be a factor too. Like how would an old person find a drug dealer? It’s not like they’re going out partying or clubbing. Their friends tend to be old too, not the demographic with a lot of drug dealers. Also they would have no clue how to find drugs online.
But plenty of old people abuse alcohol. So maybe if they had easier access to drugs abuse would be more common
Survivor bias.
Media depictions of everything, including drug addiction, tend to feature young people. There are plenty of older people addicted to street drugs (I know more than a few) and many many more addicted to prescription opioids.
A lot of them are addicted to alcohol.
The do, but it’s usually alcohol and cigarettes
Old people do abuse drugs, they just have prescriptions for them.
Old people have an easier time getting drugs for medial purpouses, like Cannabis. And its not a social issue.
Most people figure out it isn’t really working for them and masking other issues. That said, the highest number of new pot smokers are the elderly especially now that it’s legal a lot more places. However, I still smoke but my wife gets confused and can’t deal with that.
Young people are more open to experimentation.
I also always wondered this. Especially if you’re alone , in pain, kids are all grown up. Why not?
I always said my indulgences were just taking upy excess capacity
Now that I am old I don’t have any excess to play with. For instance, my sense of balance is impaired by neuropathy so anything that makes me wobbly is right out. I injured my kidneys with nsaid abuse so anything that raises my BP is a no go. And I have all the coding I want for pain so that covers opioids, although they are no longer recreational, they are as unfun as the nsaids they replace.
You’ve never looked after lonely old people. They are lonely for a reason sometimes.
One guy I looked after spent his whole life drunk and on cocaine. He had a carer because no one else would look after him. I found out he abused his wife and children when drunk and high and his other family disowned him.
He wasn’t nice either.
Also, most people who abuse drink and drugs past 45 years old die younger. That’s why there are hardly any old druggies and as for alcoholic over the age of 45, alcohol is slowly killing them so they are already dead, in a way.
Older people do abuse drugs. Specifically, alcohol.
Hahaha, I mean how old are we talking? My dad is like 63 & a meth addict. I don’t have contact with him, but homie is an overweight, meth-loving man. But I can totally picture someone’s 82-year-old grandma sitting in a La-Z-Boy doing crack.
So when I was like 10? I thought “Doing drugs is childish. Like, being over 26 and still doing drugs is crazy people need to grow out of that phase.” Even though I come from a family of addicts mom, dad, & brother struggled addiction & I understand how hard it is to get clean but 10 yr old me was an idiot thinking you wake up one day and think “I’m to old to be doing heroin, I’m 26 now time to get serious about life.”
We’ve got good at it and other old people are our suppliers who have also got very good at it.
They do. Their dealers just have medical degrees.
Wouldn’t some of them be deceased, from using drugs at a young age? Also if you look at fent zombies, you’ll see many are clearly older.
Define “old”
You seem to think people abuse drugs because they’re bored. My experience has been people who abuse drugs usually do so because something happened to them in life that is unbearable.
Because they’re dead
I know so many older people who smoke weed…
Only functional old people get out an about, a young person can still get out and about while being an addict
They don’t need to they did it all in the 80s
Old people use more drugs than any other group.
Every single time I go to a dispensary here in town, I see at LEAST two or three old people (I’m in my mid 40s, and these people look to be in their mid-60s to mid-70s). And they don’t look like old hippies, either, they look just like everybody’s grandma and grandpa or aunt or uncle.
Those who did didn’t make it to old age.
Because life in your sixties (I’m 64) is so fucking great I would not want to miss a single moment because I’m stoned. I already missed my 20’s that way.
I’m going to do so much MDMA when I retire swear to god
I quit heroin, cigarettes and alcohol in that order and worked hard to push back the effects. That stuff beats you up and takes lots of time off the end of your life. I’m out
My dad started using drugs after he retired
The type of people who live to old age aren’t the type to use drugs so the “garden weeds itself”
Drug addicts die young
And
Young people statistically have less money and opportunities which leads to more young people doing drugs
We use them responsibly, that’s why!
Can only speak for myself. I look to drugs because I am longing for some kind of dopamine release. I simply want to feel good and I want to find the easiest path to that goal.
Older people perhaps have learned over the course of a long life that actually doing things, putting in work, passion and effort, leads to that feel good sensation. Laziness has its consequences. This wisdom takes time to develop in many people. But generally, as you get older, you figure it out.
Of course, along the way, you might get addicted to this or that drug……This happens alot with alcohol for sure.
I twisted my knee using a squatty potty, I can’t imagine trying to do that on drugs and expecting a better outcome.
In my experience, most of them are alcoholics.
I frequent a local dive bar, and a good 70-80% of their clientele are men over the age of 50. It’s more socially acceptable and easily accessible.
I also see a decent amount at the dispensaries around town. I guess it just depends on the environment.
Why do you think they aren’t using drugs? The folks who were going to fall into addiction and ruin their lives have largely already done it by then. There are loads of older people who use all sorts of drugs.
Cause they abused drugs as youths and didn’t make it to old age or they made it to old age because they stopped abusing drugs.
the old people that abuse drugs are the black homeless uncs that don’t seem to die
They do. They’re just not doing it in the streets or in the middle of a club
I did some hard drugs in my 20s. It was fun as fuck. I intend on doing hard drugs after I retire. Do I really want to be 100 yrs old? No I don’t.
The drugs killed them before they got old.
They do, prescription drugs given to them by their doctors. If doctors did the same for young people, fewer of them would be using street drugs.
Drug abuse has an effect on longevity.
They do much more than you’d think. Just discreetly.
There are older ppl that are addicted to prescription drugs and other drugs.
Also drug addiction doesn’t lead to long live, unless you quit them, people who are “actively using” don’t live to old age as often.
IF you live long enough as a drug addict…most die early. If you do actually clean yourself up you come to realize just how shitty you feel in between drug binges and from what friends have told me, drugs don’t “hit” the same way when you’re 50 and over. Take marijuana for example. When you’re young it will make you laugh and make you experience music and such differently. When you’re old, it just relaxes you and puts you ro sleep. I can’t speak for heroin but I do know, again from friends who cleaned themselves up, that after 50 yo they just do not trust that their bodies can bounce back well enough to continue.
I know a ton of old people who abuse drugs. Some of the luckiest people I know
Old people don’t have a connection to get drugs.
They do. They just stay home and do them.
Our bodies can’t take it anymore.
I still get drug tested at work, so there’s that.
Im 42 and I have done drugs all my life. All kinds. From weed to meth. And consistently. I have never been addicted to anything but I enjoy it.
This year I have quit it all. I may have a glass of wine when I’m doing a podcast but that’s it. The reason is as you get older these drugs take a heavier and heavier toll on your brain and body. I can’t even imagine doing drugs in 10-20 years. I’m sure it’s possible, but with moderation. Maybe an edible a week or something but nothing harder or more consistent than that.
So to answer your question because their bodies are already failing and drugs don’t truly improve your quality of life
If they’ve survived to old age, they’ve probably seen drugs destroy people’s lives.
When you’re young you do drugs to escape the hideous, soul-destroying monotony of life. As you get older you learn to accept that monotony is what life is all about and you embrace it rather than try to run away from it.
in the 1980’s my grandma would have been in her 60’s and was addicted to valium and various other prescription drugs. She eventually got dementia, had a stroke, and became much more pleasant to be around.
As an old person, I’ve already made those mistakes. If I hadn’t learned from those mistakes, I wouldn’t be old. I’d be dead.
On my 80th birthday, I’m trying heroin. Not even joking.
Used to be quite a fan of cocaine in younger life. Hell of a drug. Pretty sure my heart wouldn’t take that kind of action now though.
As soon as I turn 80, I plan on starting doing all the drugs. All of them? No, all of them.
They do not know where to find said drugs… We used to get them from doctors.
They do. But the drugs are prescription. How many old people do you think are dependent on narcotics? I bet it’s a ton. But nobody really cares because they are old so let them have whatever makes them happy.
Also, recreational drug abuse doesn’t exactly lend itself to a long life. You’ll probably find a lot of those people either get clean or die.
To be honest, its kinda cruel that we dont let old people in retirement homes use shrooms or lsd. Like yes there are risks associated with it, but I imagine it would significantly increase their quality of life, especially if they dont have family who visit them frequently.
Highly addictive drugs are usually devastating for health, specially with long term use. That’s why you don’t see a meth or heroin abuser who is 80 and has been consistently abusing since their 20s. Because the human body simply isn’t built to take that sort of abuse for that long.
Also if someone who has reached 80 relapses after decades or has a terrible tragedy and begins using hard drugs, they aren’t long enough for this world to develop a drug addiction.
Old people are using drugs – responsibly. When nonusers think of drug users, the picture they have in mind is of the abuser. But drugs are much like alcohol in the sense that only about 20% of users develop a drinking or drug problem. The other 80% can drink or get high without going overboard.
This is going to be especially true of older people. People tend to party a lot more hearty when they’re younger. The dope heads who made to retirement are the ones who used responsibly.
I’m 65 years old. I still enjoy getting high once in a while. You just have to keep it within reason. When I was young, during the seventies, we were all taking massive amounts of dope, but you can’t keep doing that forever.
Recreational drug use often starts due to novelty-seeking behaviour, which is by far strongest in younger people.
Seniors are often already taking a handful of drugs to keep their bodies running semi-decently. Adding yet another drug is less appealing in that context. And there’s a much higher risk of an interaction that could harm you.
The older you get, the worse the aftereffects of recreational drugs become.
People who are prone to abusing drugs dont make it to old.
You’d be surprised when I tell you most drug dealers are grandpas and grandmas
The real answer is the older you get the more isolated people become.
Drugs are often purchased via social connections. Knowing people who know people. The older you get often your friendship window narrows around to your family. So I’d imagine those who want to aren’t about to ask that bad grandkid for some drugs.
My grandmother had a secret opiate addiction
There are very few people over 40 that one day go, hmm I think I’ll try heroin. Or meth. People “usually” make better decisions when they get older. With age comes knowledge. Like in, I’ve seen a lot of people die from doing drugs. Probably not a good idea to do them. Young people for the most part haven’t dealt with that. And I’d like to add, the older you get, the more cancer sucks.
The old people are the new dealers
You think they don’t? The drugs they abuse, with a doctor’s help, just happen to be prescription.
You ever seen old people watch Fox News? That’s the addiction right there.
If you’ve seen the effects the hard shit has on a young body, what do you think it would do to an old one. Self preservation is my best guess.
We old older people don’t need drugs we get high on our medication😜😂😂
I disagree with this, my grandmother became a full blown alcoholic in her 70s, and many old people are hooked on prescription drugs which are far more stronger than many street drugs
They do. Except a lot of drug abusers don’t live long enough to be old.
I’ve already told people in my family, if I’m in hospice to just hook that IV up to me to keep me hydrated, and then shoot me up with a cocktail of Heroin, Meth and Crack. I want to ride the storm waves out of this world.
If I’m diagnosed with something terminal I’m definitely going to start using hard drugs and doing dumb shit like smoking crack while streaking at the Superbowl or skydiving naked high on meth.
I always joked about going out on a massive heroine overdose when I got old…then discovered (during labor of all times) that I am allergic to opioids. Not going to spend my last remaining moments itching like I had chicken pox on top of poison ivy.
Once you get older you learn how to do drugs properly
Old people are sick of taking drugs and don’t think of them as a sport!
How do you think they live so long?
Some of us old people have learned how to use them to enhance our daily lives. At work and at home. “Highly functional” used to be a descriptive term for it. Dosage regulation is easy when you’ve been doing it for decades
We don’t get to be old being Stoopid.
If I make it beyond 80, I’m definitely trying heroin.
“You don’t meet old heroin addicts.”
Think about it.
I mean from my experience they do. Most people just aren’t hanging out with those old folks. When I was on meth, the people I spent the most time around were tweakers 50-70 years old. They were the most functional and low key. Obviously this is anecdotal, but old drug users exist.
74 here…
Drugs?
I’m too busy keeping the local grandmothers engaged!!
After consuming 18+ beers daily, I was tired of swallowing so much liquid. Became tedious after a few years. Beers at 3:am and 7:am chased away the hangovers. Put it behind me long ago.
Speaking as an old guy (74), one’s tolerances narrow as one ages. Enough alcohol to give you a hangover might give me stomach pains for four days. Weed that might give you a fun night will leave me unsteady for a day or two.
Aging’s not fun, and you pay a disproportionate price, compared to more youthful bodies.
old people use drugs, think about times when dads just nod off in the middle of the day, tbh the elderly have the drugs they want, doctors aren’t willing to prescribe most of them to younger people.
Elderly hard drug users are rare because hard drug users rarely become elderly. Or rather, they do become elderly and die of old age at like forty or sixty.
Young people struggle with drug addiction because they have the energy to struggle. Old people just die.
Because most of us are smart enough to know that drug addiction is a dead end. It’ll empty your wallet and wreck your health.
I’m in my 50s. I’m old enough to have seen people suffer greatly and some died from their alcohol/drug abuse. It’s awful to watch. Why would I do that to myself ?
I think you wildly underestimate how many old people are on drugs.
Because you don’t usually get to be an old person if you abuse drugs.