Statistics from the most recent fiscal year show that the federal government spent over $150 million reimbursing veterans for medical marijuana, which is more than double the amount spent just three years ago.
More and more veterans are asking the government to cover the cost of cannabis, and the numbers from Veterans Affairs Canada show that they are on track to spend about $200 million this year.
Experts and activists aren’t exactly sure what’s causing the increase, but they can agree that we need more data on the pros and cons of using medical marijuana for veterans (and the taxpayers who are footing the bill).
Associate director of McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research Jason Busse remarked, “We sorely need stronger research to determine if these policies and if the existing consumption is likely to have more benefit or do more damage.”
For the time being, we just do not have that information.
After a small number of veterans petitioned for and received approval to use medical cannabis in 2008, the Department of Veterans Affairs began reimbursing those costs.
A chain of court rulings dating back more than two decades established a precedent for protecting those who use marijuana for medical purposes from criminal prosecution.
However, in 2014, Health Canada loosened its restrictions on who might recommend medical marijuana to Canadians and under what conditions. The new regulations did not cap the total amount of legalised cannabis or its price.
In that year, Veterans Affairs spent $409,000 to reimburse 112 veterans for their marijuana. This figure jumped to over 600 the next year, costing over $1.7 million, and shows no signs of slowing down.
In 2021-22, the government repaid more than 18,000 ex-military veterans for medicinal marijuana claims totaling $153 million, according to data submitted by the department to Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay in June in response to questions in the House of Commons.
Program expenditures are expected to total $195.2 million in fiscal year 2022-23, the note says.
Despite the Liberal government’s 2016 decision to cap claims at three grammes per day at $8.50 per gramme, with an allowance of up to 10 grammes per day with medical authorization, the number of claims and associated expenses have continued to soar.
Even though the message to MacAulay showed one in five veterans was receiving more than three grammes per day, the limits caused an outburst of outrage from veterans and activists who felt the limits would badly effect them.
According to Health Canada, the number of Canadians registered to consume medicinal marijuana (often covered by insurance) dropped to 257,000 in December 2021 from 345,000 in October 2018.
Veterans Transition Network staff in British Columbia, who work with reservists and veterans to offer them with peer support and counselling, have witnessed firsthand the meteoric rise in medicinal marijuana use among veterans in recent years.
According to Oliver Thorne, the executive director, “seeing those data of merely the growth year over year, to my mind, it matches with what we’ve observed in terms of how widespread it has become in the veterans’ care landscape.”
Dr. Paul Whitehead, national clinic director for the network, estimates that half or more of the veterans who participate in the organization’s programmes currently use cannabis products for medical purposes, though the type, frequency, and dosage all vary widely.
The COVID-19 pandemic, increased public knowledge, less social shame, and the establishment of a multimillion dollar industry all contribute to the growth, according to experts.
There is an argument that the widespread availability of medical cannabis has helped curb the abuse of opioids and other drugs.
Whitehead claimed that client alcohol consumption had decreased, albeit he had no way of knowing if this was in fact the case.
However, he and others noted that much more research is needed to determine whether or whether veterans benefit from medical marijuana and, if so, how and why.
Veterans have assured us that there is a positive effect, and they have done so repeatedly, so we have every reason to believe that Thorne is correct. But the way is unknown to us. And that, if you ask me, is the crux of the matter: how does it function? “Why is it effective?”
While at McMaster, Busse has been pondering these issues. So far, he has found that there is a dearth of hard evidence regarding medical marijuana’s effects, with the data that does exist suggesting that the drug has little to no effect on most people with chronic pain or sleep issues.
Still, Busse noted, there is a severe lack of data on the long-term effects of cannabis use and its effect on those with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The federal government has frequently over the years vowed to fund research on the topic, but little tangible information has emerged. Busse stated that red tape and regulations from Health Canada were to blame for the inability to conduct large-scale clinical investigations.
In spite of receiving financing for the trial over two years ago, “only this week” he received approval to begin conducting the trial. The author adds, “And I know that many corporations have simply given up on doing clinical studies in Canada.”
Veterans Affairs Canada is continually assessing the latest available evidence and revising our policy as needed, according to a June statement given to MacAulay by department officials.
The Soldiers Transition Network does not advocate restricting access to medicinal marijuana, and both Thorne and Whitehead have heard firsthand from veterans about the positive effects the substance can have, but some worry that veterans will use it to avoid dealing with their PTSD rather than address it.
Whether it’s our programme or another’s, “we’d want to see the numbers of expenditure go up each year for counselling programmes,” Thorne said. “We hope to see adoption on a comparable scale.”
