Earth To Floridian Potheads: Cannabis Is Not A Fountain Of Youth
Florida is as renowned for its populations of old folks and potheads as it is for its populations of crocodilians and introduced species. Of course, sometimes the categories overlap more than you might expect. Yes, Florida is the only place in the world with a native alligator species and a native crocodile species; the native range of the American crocodile spans Florida and nine other states, but the American crocodile’s range covers parts of South and Central America and the Caribbean, and in its northernmost reaches, it overlaps the range of the American alligator in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. More recently, several Nile crocodiles, which are native to Africa, have been seen swimming in the Everglades; it is likely that they entered Florida through the illegal exotic pet trade. Meanwhile, not all the potheads in Florida are young. The number of frequent cannabis users over the age of 50 has only increased since some parts of Florida decriminalized recreational cannabis possession, and since Florida launched a medical cannabis program which has become robust. They might insist that weed keeps them young, but a recent study paints a less pleasantly hazy picture of seniors and heavy cannabis use. If you plan to stay high throughout your retirement, you at least need a long-term care plan, and to accomplish that, you should contact a Tampa estate planning lawyer.
If Your 420 Habit Has Landed You in the Hospital, It’s Time to Establish a Medicaid Trust
A study published in the current issue of JAMA Neurology seems to be a cautionary tale for seniors who plan to smoke weed every day throughout their retirement. A group of researchers from Canada studied trends in cannabis-related hospital visits between 2008 and 2021, starting in the earliest days of Canada’s medical cannabis program, and found that these visits increased for all age groups, but the increase was especially dramatic for people over 65.
Furthermore, seniors who smoked so much weed that they ended up in the emergency room had an increased risk of dementia. Patients hospitalized because of cannabis use had a five percent chance of receiving a dementia diagnosis within five years and a 19 percent chance of receiving a diagnosis within ten years.
Cannabis use is not always a fast track to dementia, but your health could run out at any time, and if it does, your money can disappear quickly. If you can afford long-term care insurance or a hybrid life insurance policy with long-term care benefits, buy it now. If not, Medicaid nursing home care could be in your future. Beware of the five-year look back rule and set up a Medicaid trust sooner rather than later.
Contact David Toback About Preparing for Long-Term Care
A Central Florida estate planning lawyer can help you figure out how you will pay for long-term care, because, like almost everyone, you will probably eventually need it. Contact David Toback in Tampa, Florida to set up a consultation.
Sources:
cnn.com/2025/04/20/health/marijuana-dementia-wellness/index.html
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40227745/
