First-time cannabis buyers aged 60-and-older in Colorado purchased combination CBD and THC, or CBD-only, products more often than THC-only products, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open.
The researchers from the University of Utah Intermountain Health Department of Population Health Sciences and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, found 57.5% of the 169 participants selected combination THC and CBD products, with 28.7% choosing CBD-only products, while 13.8% chose THC-only products.
“Primary motivations were avoiding pharmaceuticals and seeking symptom relief after other options were exhausted; concerns about associated psychoactive outcomes were common, particularly for THC-containing products.” — Edible Cannabis and Pain, Sleep, and Mental Health Management in Older Adults, JAMA Network Open, 5/8/2026
Rebecca Delaney, PhD, assistant professor of population health sciences at U of U Health and first author on the study, said in a statement that the participants “really wanted better quality of life, reducing their pain, getting better sleep, and being able to enjoy time with family and friends a little bit more.”
“They brought a lot of feedback from other people to inform their opinions,” Delaney said. “Word of mouth has a really big impact.”
In a statement, Angela Bryan, PhD, professor of psychology and neuroscience at CU Boulder and senior author on the study, added that “for the most part” the researchers “found that these folks aren’t really interested in getting high. They just want to feel better.”
Delaney said that the study results help show people’s baseline understanding of using cannabis to address health concerns, providing a foundation to develop better informational tools and clinical support.
“The ultimate goal is to develop resources to help people make decisions and find products that meet their needs, and to figure out how we can distill information to patients and physicians,” she said. “We would really love to see more of these conversations happening between physicians and patients to make sure that people feel supported and informed when seeking alternative ways to address their pain.”
