Pubdate: Sat, 07 May 2016
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Page: B7

TROUBLING POT STATS

The number of former soldiers using medicinal marijuana has
skyrocketed. Veterans Affairs Canada isn't doing a good job of
monitoring this and hasn't figured out how much it's willing to pay
for medical pot. Its hazy thinking has earned a rebuke from Auditor
General Michael Ferguson.

For a government committed both to bettering the lives of veterans,
and loosening drug laws, Ferguson's report was embarrassing, even if
some blame belongs to the last government. But Justin Trudeau has
promised a bill to legalize marijuana within the year for all adults -
not just those who want it for medical reasons - and he is determined
to do better for former military members than did the Stephen Harper
Conservatives. So how will the Liberals proceed?

A cautious Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr responded with a dodge:
"We're taking the time to get this right. We want to consult with our
stakeholders. We'll have medical experts in the emerging field of
marijuana for medical purposes and get this right." He promised a
"policy directive" at some future date.

Granted, the file is complex. The auditor found the government is
paying for 10 grams of marijuana a day for some vets, who are using it
to treat chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder. That's
double the amount declared acceptable by Health Canada.

Meanwhile, the costs have increased: from $5 a gram to between $6 and
$14 a gram. The number of veterans using weed is growing, too: In
2013, only 112 used medical marijuana, but following a regulatory
change that simplified access, the figures jumped to 1,320 for the
period between April 2015 and December, 2015. Coverage costs average
$9,200 a person.

If nothing is done, for the 2016-17 fiscal year this could add up to
$25 million, accounting for fully one-third of drug costs under the
department's Health Care Benefits Program.

It's a remarkable muddle, given that many physicians don't approve of
medicinal marijuana to start with. They worry that proper drug testing
and approvals done for other substances haven't been carried out with
the same rigour for pot.

This does not mean veterans shouldn't get marijuana; most Canadians
would approve of anything that helped alleviate physical pain or
mental distress for those who have defended the country. Indeed,
veterans are a defined group of Canadians whose drug use could be
studied to the benefit of all, particular in the treatment of PTSD.
But for now, Veterans Affairs needs to figure out quickly why so many
clients are using so much marijuana at such a high cost. If marijuana
programs can't be managed well for a relatively small number, there
are bigger questions to be asked about how the federal government will
manage pot legalization when things move beyond the medical realm.

The government has not given itself much time for clear-headed
thinking.
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MAP posted-by: Matt