The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper: Season 2023, Episode 13

2023 - 13: Weed 7: A Senior Moment

Dr. Sanjay Gupta's duPont-Columbia Award-winning Emmy® nominated Weed series returns to explore the drug's risks and benefits in treating chronic issues such as pain, anxiety, and Alzheimer's disease in patients over 50. 

Between 2015 and 2018, cannabis use in seniors over 65 jumped 75%, and this age group now represents the fastest-growing group of cannabis users in the United States. In this episode, Dr. Gupta travels from research facilities in Tel Aviv, Israel – often referred to as "the holy land of medical marijuana" – to a senior living community in West Palm Beach running an experimental cannabis treatment pilot program, as he learns more about how seniors are using the drug for pain relief, better sleep, less anxiety, weight gain, and more. In California, he boards a "cannabus" providing transport to seniors who cannot otherwise access dispensaries and visits one of the largest cannabis growing operations in the world, where plants are designed with seniors in mind.

"Over the last decade reporting on medical marijuana, time and time again, what has surprised me the most is the optimism, the possibility, and the impact that carefully controlled cannabis can have, even on seniors, for a better quality of life," Dr. Gupta said.

Featuring interviews with doctors and researchers at the forefront of the field, as well as first-person accounts from seniors about their experience using cannabis, "Weed 7: A Senior Moment" explores how the shifting stigma around the drug is impacting a growing number of seniors around the world, decreasing their prescription drug use, and improving their quality of life.