By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Some baby boomers are continuing to use drugs into their later years, causing the rate of illegal drug use to go up among boomers.

Boomers aged 50 to 59 reporting use of drugs within the past year has nearly doubled from 5.1 percent in 2002 to 9.4 percent in 2007, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The rates among all other age groups are staying the same or decreasing.

“An Examination of Trends in Illicit Drug Use Among Adults Aged 50 to 59 in the United States” is the first in a series of reports by the administration on drug use.

“These findings show that many in the Woodstock generation continue to use illicit drugs as they age,” said the administration’s Acting Administrator Eric Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H., in a news release on the report.

“This continued use poses medical risks to these individuals and is likely to put further strains on the nation’s health care system…”

The report includes information on the types of substances involved, different demographic and behavioral factors associated with higher rates of use, and other issues.

The data used in the analysis comes from many sources including 16,656 respondents aged 50 to 59 participating in the 2002 through 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, a national public health survey.

The study surveyed use of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, and prescription drugs used non-medically.

The report is available at oas.samhsa.gov/.

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