Berkeley's first African-American senior female dispensary licensee, Sue Taylor, uses topicals on her knees and back. PHOTO: Carlos Avila Gonzalez
Tess Schoenbart a member of the Rossmoor Medical Marijuana Education and Support Club in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Tuesday, February 28, 2017. Schoenbart uses cannabis for ADD, and relaxation and creativity. PHOTO: Carlos Avila Gonzalez
Dr. Paul Holland in Rossmoor, CA. takes cannabis tincture for insomnia related to a past stroke. PHOTO: Carlos Avila Gonzalez
Beverly Kivel, and Lily, a member of the Rossmoor Medical Marijuana Education and Support Club in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Tuesday, February 28, 2017. Kivel has a rare type of blood cancer, who rejected chemotherapy in favor of cannabinoids. Several years later -- she's doing great. PHOTO: Carlos Avila
Lois Langer, a member of the Rossmoor Medical Marijuana Education and Support Club in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Tuesday, February 28, 2017. Langer uses edibles to treat occasional insomnia, as well as topicals for knee muscle pain. PHOTO: Carlos Avila Gonzalez
Michael Koehn shows of his High Times t-shirt as he gets dressed following a swim with his husband David Goldman, at the Rossi Pool in San Francisco, CA, on Wednesday March 15, 2017. David and his husband Michael Koehn swim three times a week at the pool. PHOTO: Michael Short
Michael Koehn takes a hit from a vaporizer bag at his home in San Francisco, CA, on Wednesday March 15, 2017. PHOTO: Michael Short
David Goldman takes a puff from a vape pen at his home in San Francisco, CA, on Wednesday March 15, 2017. Goldman directs the Brownie Mary Democratic Club in San Francisco; a cannabis interest group. PHOTO: Michael Short
Goldman and partner Michael Koehn enjoy a Volcano vaporizer --- a desktop unit that fills a bag with cannabis vapor. Vaporizers cut out the carcinogens associated with smoking cannabis. PHOTO: Michael Short for San Francisco Chronicle
Twenty-one years after California legalized medical marijuana, those who need it the most — seniors with chronic conditions — have the worst access to it.
Seniors face huge barriers to getting cannabis: insurance does not cover it; their doctor is not knowledgable and the drug is heavily stigmatized among their peers.
But, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, many seniors report better lives on cannabis. Here’s some of them.