Ottawa on track to spend $200M per year on cannabis for veterans
Ottawa is reimbursing a record number of veterans for medical marijuana, with new figures showing the federal government shelled out more than $150 million in the last fiscal year -- more than double the amount just three years ago.
And that is only the beginning as the figures from Veterans Affairs Canada reveal the government is on track to spend nearly $200 million this year as more and more former service members ask the government to pay for their cannabis.
While experts and advocates are uncertain about the reasons for the surge, they agree about the need for more information on the real benefits and potential harms of medical marijuana for veterans -- and taxpayers paying for it.
"We desperately need better evidence to understand if these policies and if the current usage is likely to have more benefit or do more harm," said Jason Busse, associate director of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research at McMaster University.
"We don't know that right now."
Veterans Affairs started reimbursing a small number of former military personnel for their medical cannabis in 2008, at which point the approvals were granted on an extremely limited basis and with the approval of a medical specialist.
The move followed a series of court decisions more than 20 years ago that first allowed a legal exemption for the consumption of medical marijuana from criminal prosecution.
Then in 2014, Health Canada relaxed its rules around who could authorize the use of medical marijuana to Canadians and for what conditions and circumstances. The new rules didn't put a limit on the amount of pot that could be authorized, or the cost.
Veterans Affairs at the time was reimbursing 112 ex-service members for their pot, at a cost of $409,000. By the following year, that number had increased to more than 600, at a total cost of more than $1.7 million -- with no end to the increase in sight.
Figures provided by the department to Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay in June for questions in the House of Commons show the government reimbursed more than 18,000 ex-military members for $153 million in medical marijuana claims in 2021-22.
"For fiscal year 2022-23, program expenditures are forecasted to be $195.2 million," adds the note.
The skyrocketing claims and costs have continued despite the Liberal government decision in 2016 to limit claims to three grams per day at $8.50 per gram, with an allowance of up to 10 grams per day with medical authorization.
Those limits resulted in an explosion of anger from veterans and advocates who said the limits would negatively affect them, though the note to MacAulay said one in five veterans was receiving more than three grams per day.
By comparison, Health Canada says the number of Canadians across the country registered to use medical marijuana, which is normally paid for by insurance companies, fell to 257,000 in December 2021 from 345,000 in October 2018.
Officials at the B.C.-based Veterans Transition Network, which provides peer support and counselling programs for former Armed Forces members, have seen the explosive growth in medical marijuana use by veterans firsthand in recent years.
"Seeing those numbers of just the growth year over year, to my mind, it fits with what we've seen in terms of how commonplace it's become in the veterans' care landscape," said executive director Oliver Thorne.
The network's national clinic director Dr. Paul Whitehead estimated around half of veterans participating in the organization's programs now use some sort of cannabis product for medical reasons, though the exact type, frequency and dosage varies significantly.
Experts cited a number of potential reasons for the increase, including the COVID-19 pandemic, broader awareness, less stigma around cannabis use, and the emergence of a multimillion-dollar industry around medical pot for veterans.
Some veterans and advocates have argued that the rise of medical cannabis has helped reduce the use of opioids and other narcotics.
While he couldn't say whether that was true, Whitehead reported a decrease in alcohol use among his organization's clients.
Yet he and others also pointed to the many questions that remain about if medical marijuana really helps veterans -- and if so, how and why.
"We feel confident there is absolutely some benefit because veterans tell us that, and they tell us that frequently," said Thorne. "But we don't know the how. And I think that's what we really need to know: how does it work? Why does it work?"
Busse has been attempting to answer some of those questions at McMaster. What he's discovered so far is a paucity of real data about the impacts of medical marijuana, with what is available showing little to no impact on most people with chronic pain or sleep problems.
Even those studies that have been conducted have been extremely limited, Busse added, with little information about the impact on those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or even the long-term impacts of using cannabis.
The lack of concrete information comes despite the federal government having repeatedly promised over the years to fund research on the issue. Busse blamed Health Canada regulations and red tape for having prevented large-scale clinical studies.
"It was just (this week) that we finally got approval to run our first trial, despite having gotten funding for it over two years ago," he said. "And I know that a lot of companies have simply given up on doing clinical trials in Canada."
Veterans Affairs would not publicly speak to any anticipated changes to its reimbursement rules, but officials told MacAulay in June that as it is "an evolving area of treatment, Veterans Affairs Canada is regularly reviewing the latest available evidence and adjusting our policy as needed."
While Thorne and Whitehead have heard veterans testify to the benefits of medical marijuana, and the Veterans Transition Network doesn't support limiting access, there are concerns that some former service members will use the drug to avoid their psychological trauma rather than face it.
"We'd love to see the numbers of spending go up each year for counselling programs, whether it's ours or it's any other," Thorne said. "We'd love to see that similar kind of uptake."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
Kidnapped by her father and kept in a crawl space: Court documents reveal Montreal horror story
A Montreal father who kidnapped his daughter who has autism and lied to police when they asked where she was should serve three years in prison, a Crown prosecutor said.
Ontario's so-called 'Crypto King' soliciting investments as recently as February: police
Police are alleging that Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ Aiden Pleterski was soliciting investments as recently as February – almost two years after he was petitioned into bankruptcy for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
Pierre Poilievre presses Justin Trudeau for summer pause on carbon and fuel taxes
To give Canadians a break on their summer road trips, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to suspend all gas and diesel taxes from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
Noticed a new payment? Some Canadians get first carbon rebate
Many Canadians found a message from the Canada Revenue Agency this week as they received their first direct deposit for the Canada Carbon Rebate.
Teen died from eating a spicy chip as part of social media challenge, autopsy report concludes
A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance 'with a high capsaicin concentration.'
Protecting your car from the growing risk of keyless vehicle thefts
Auto technology has evolved and many newer cars use wireless key fobs and push-button starters instead of traditional metal keys. But that technology also makes things easier for thieves.
WATCH Scientists get a surprising glimpse at a rare deep-sea squid
Scientists from the University of Western Australia and Kelpsie Geociences in the U.K. say they were surprised to discover an underwater camera caught video of a rare deep-sea squid.
There's a new workers' rights treaty in Canada. What does it mean for you?
Although a global workers' treaty has been in force in Canada since January, an employment lawyer believes it won't do anything more to protect employees from violence and harassment.
Local Spotlight
'Sacred work': Sask. First Nation learning how to conduct its own underground searches
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
'It could mean a cure': Cautious optimism for groundbreaking ALS research at Western
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
B.C. musician's song catches attention of Canucks
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
'We're on standby': Team ready to help entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Thieves caught on camera stealing pet chicken from North Vancouver backyard
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
Chris Hadfield inspires youth musical in Sudbury
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.