Marvin Yeoman, 74, had tried cannabis as a young adult, but for his wife, it was new.

“I never, never, ever even thought about marijuana when I was growing up — never in college, as a young adult or as a middle-aged adult,” said Rene Yeoman, 71. “It was just not even something that was on my radar.”

The Land O’ Lakes residents had both undergone recent major surgeries, so they gave in to their daughter’s suggestion to use the drug to treat chronic pain.

Rene Yeoman discovered she liked how edibles helped her sleep through the night and avoid the use of other medications.

And as seniors, the couple is in good company.

“When I go to the dispensary, there are more elderly people in there than there are young people,” said Marvin Yeoman.

Marijuana use is on the rise among older adults.

Last year, the proportion of adults 65 or older who reported recent cannabis use jumped by 18 percent, according to the 2020 National Survey of Drug Use and Health released last week, rising from 5.1 percent in 2019 to 6 percent in 2020.

The spike comes on the heels of a steady trend of increased cannabis use among seniors over the last five years. [Read more at Tampa Bay Times]