Marijuana use on the rise for older adults in Colorado

• That's a jump from the roughly 0.4% of older adults who in 2007 reported using it in the past 12 months.

Zoom in: The percentage of people aged 65 years or older in Colorado who reported using marijuana at least once in the past 30 days grew from 3% in 2014 to 8% in 2021, according to the latest available data from the state health department.

• The figure peaked in 2020 and 2019, reaching 9%.

The intrigue: A survey from 2021 found most seniors who used cannabis used it for medicinal purposes, including to reduce symptoms of arthritis or to help with sleep.

Yes, but: Some research suggests cannabis has little effect on older adults with specific medical conditions.

State of play: Marijuana's use is more common for all age groups, something that's likely attributed to the fading social stigma around its usage.

• 59% of adults in the U.S. say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use, according to a Pew Research report from November 2022.

The big picture: More than half of Americans now live in states with legal marijuana use, with Ohio becoming the latest this fall.

• Next month marks 10 years since recreational marijuana sales began in Colorado.

Go deeper: A glimpse of Denver's forthcoming upscale cannabis club