This month I will no doubt receive yet another copy of AARP. It's ok I suppose - the first two years were distressing! Is it traumatic for families to see older loved ones drink themselves to death after retirement? Is it pushed into denial and rationalized as, "Well mom might as well drink. After all, she's in her 70s?" This attitude has to stop. Alcoholism is a serious disease at any age. It interferes with other medications, effects executive functioning, slows down reflexes and is often not even considered by medical professionals who rather blame diabetes or high blood pressure for their patients' health issues. Everyone has a right to a quality lifestyle at any age. The aging baby boomer population also boosts the amount of people with marijuana abuse issues. There is a tendency in the media to focus on the behavior of adolescents. But you would be surprised to learn how many grandmothers and grandfathers we see at Caron who were drinking excessively, smoking marijuana and taking handfuls of pills into their ripe old age. Fortunately, they realized that it's never too late to get sober!