Our Nation's Elderly:
Are They Getting the Hook-Up?
By Brett La Frombois

MADISON, WI — James Simons, a 73 year old retired shoe repair man and his wife Flo quit their Wednesday afternoon golf club because "the only joints those people talked about were their knees." Simons says that he and his wife love the natural beauty of a golf course, but cannot really enjoy it without the aid of marijuana. As a result of their recreational drug use the couple was asked to leave the Monona Hills Golf Course Senior league.

You might be quick to dismiss this case as a quirky human interest story. The Simons insist they are not alone. Ben Masel, 56, Wisconsin chapter president of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) agrees. Masel reports that the semi-annual statewide meeting of NORML attracts many senior citizen marijuana users. "The older you get, the more aches and pains you get. It makes perfect sense to me that those of us getting up in years would use marijuana on a regular basis."

Manny Loughlin, from Sun Prairie is rather blunt when it comes to his use. "I'm 77, and the only reason I get up in the morning is to smoke a joint. I've been smoking almost daily since I was 40, and I've yet to meet a man my age who is as pain free, and who's as physically and mentally fit as I am" Loughlin continues, "except for John Glenn, but I'd rather have a hit than be up in space." Gene Sillith, a 63 year old homemaker and expert quilter claims her quilts have sold much better since she started using the drug to help her arthritis, "I didn't even think to use certain colors in a quilt before."

Masel gives out these estimates; that at a convention of 600 marijuana users, 50 will be over the age of 55. Masel is also confident that everyone over the age of 55 could benefit from marijuana use. So it would seem that a market does exist for elderly marijuana use. Now the question is raised, just where do they get the stuff?

A local marijuana dealer, who declined to be identified, said he has never sold once to anyone over the age of 40. Another dealer, operating out of his swanky Gorham street penthouse agreed, no elderly.

So just where are elderly drug users getting their fix? Officer Fivel of the Madison Police Department was clueless as well. He brought up the possibility that many doctors are sympathetic to the pains of their elderly patients, and may have connections for "delivering the goods". However he went on to say that even that possibility is unlikely.

Ben Masel denies officially that he is the primary supplier to the Madison area's older pot smokers. Although, after calling back the ganja gulping golfers James and Flo Simons, my suspicions were strengthened.

What about Masel's claim that everyone over the age of 55 could benefit from marijuana use? Dr. Jim Spith of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Hospital said that marijuana could relieve many of the ailments associated with aging. "Of course it may speed up the aging process as well, but in cases where all we can do is make the patient comfortable, I don't see a problem with it" says Spith. He continued to say that many of his colleagues would probably feel the same way. The good doctor pointed out that five states had a referendum on the November 3rd ballot asking if marijuana should be used medically. He seems to be correct as four of the five states voted yes.

But clearly, the people I talked to for this article weren't using for medical reasons. Here is a run down of some of the average days for the people who are using pot brand cigarettes in their twilight years. The golfers James and Flo Simons rise each day at 8 am. James sits down with the morning paper while Flo bakes, "I've begun almost everyday for the past 25 years with baking, I love doing it, it relaxes me." After breakfast the two sit out on the back porch, over-looking their lake front property and smoke a joint. "It's best in the fall. The combination of the crisp air and the changing leaves really points out how fantastic a drug this really is" says James. Flo explains "We usually share a joint if we're going to be doing anything strenuous at all that morning, but if not we each have our own." Then Flo continues with a giggle, "afterwards we go inside and eat whatever it is I have baked." The afternoon is spent doing what each likes best. James goes down in the basement and fixes the shoes of friends and family and Flo watches television. "James loves getting up and doing something after he's smoked, but I can't do much but sit on the couch and watch public television."

Manny Loughlin is your stereotypical marijuana user. When I visited him he was clad in tie-dye and smelled of - well he just smelled. Loughlin sleeps well past noon every day and spends his afternoons and evenings writing poetry and music for his grandson. "My grandson Jim has this great band. They don't use much of my stuff, but hey it's cool. They're a great band." Loughlin claims he smokes upwards of 15 joints a day.

Gene Sillith spends most evenings on her back. She claims quilting on her back helps drive her creativity. "I've quilted sitting down and being high and the quilts are nice. I've quilted laying on my back and not being high and the quilts are nice. But when you combine the two, I've made some splendid quilts." Like the Simons, Sillith leads your average elderly lifestyle, except for the marijuana smoking. She awakes early, spend her afternoons doing what she loves, and spends her evenings watching CBS. Gene claims she usually smokes one joint before she starts quilting, and sometimes one in the middle of a session. Sillith see herself as a responsible pot smoker "I only use marijuana to help my business, I don't smoke for pleasure, or simply to get high. Unless on the rare occasion I'm watching a movie. Movies are just better after marijuana."

So it seems that marijuana use isn't just relegated to the young. The folks interviewed for this article hope to be leading a long and healthy life, and hope that someday they can share their drug use with their family. "I've tried to tell my daughters" says Sillith, "but every time I even bring up the subject of pot they say 'oh Mom, we don't even want to know.' I think they know I use it, but it wouldn't be acceptable for it to be out in the open." Every one also expressed a desire to be able to supply their use without having to sneak around. But until the government decides they can buy marijuana just like we buy cigarettes, these elderly will have to continue leading a life of guilty pleasures.

— graphic by Justin Knoll