Pubdate: Wed, 04 Jan 2017 Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) Copyright: 2017 Postmedia Network Inc. Contact: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326 Author: Lee Berthiaume Page: NP1 VETS' MEDICINAL POT LIMIT TRIMMED Maximum Daily Limit Dropping From 10 Grams Down To Three Almost three-quarters of veterans using medical marijuana will feel the effect this spring when the federal government imposes a new limit on the amount of weed for which it will pay. A new report says 74 per cent of veterans whose medical pot is covered by the government consume more than three grams per day - which will put them over the three-gram daily maximum the government is poised to impose starting in May. The report says one in three uses 10 grams - the current maximum daily allotment. The figures are contained in an internal Veterans Affairs Canada audit that raises broad questions about the use of pot by veterans, including claims that it reduces the use of painkillers and other addictive drugs. The government has pointed to skyrocketing costs and a lack of scientific evidence about the drug's medical benefits in defending its decision to scale back the amount it will cover, which the audit suggests will affect hundreds of veterans. But critics have questioned how the government decided on three grams per day and they've raised concerns about the impact on veterans who require more than three grams to deal with physical or mental injuries. Veterans Affairs has paid for medical marijuana for veterans since 2008, following a court decision requiring reasonable access when authorized by a health-care practitioner. The number of clients - and the associated cost - has exploded since 2014, when regulatory changes at Health Canada and a new Veterans Affairs policy allowed up to 10 grams per veteran per day. According to the audit, more than 1,700 injured ex-soldiers were being reimbursed for medical marijuana as of the end of last March. Just 26 per cent were getting three grams or less each day. The auditors did not say why such large amounts of marijuana were being authorized, but they did find that hundreds of veterans had started with between eight and 10 grams per day right off the bat. Interviews with front-line staff, meanwhile, found veterans taking one to two grams per day, "at appropriate times, are managing well." The question of how much medical marijuana is enough has been hotly debated since November, when Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr said he was scaling back the maximum limit. The move came amid revelations that the cost of medical marijuana for vets had grown from $408,000 in 2013-14 to more than $20 million last year, and after auditor general Michael Ferguson flagged the program as being out of control. Hehr's spokeswoman defended the change Tuesday, saying in an email that the three gram allotment was established after wide consultations and a review of existing research. "We developed a policy that balances the anecdotal experience of the beneficiary and the medical community's opinion on the risks of use of cannabis for yet unscientifically proven treatment regimes," Sarah McMaster said. "This policy has the health and well-being of veterans and their families at its heart." Anyone requiring more than three grams can submit an application to the department along with a note from a medical specialist. Still, Conservative veterans affairs critic John Brassard said the audit shows just how far reaching the new policy will be on those veterans who use medical pot, and why more research is needed before reducing the maximum allotment. "The change to this policy has potentially serious implications," he said. "It can't be a one-size-fits-all approach." NDP veterans affairs critic Irene Mathyssen said she has heard personally from veterans and their families, who have seen the benefits of medical marijuana and worry about the new policy. "It should be on a case-by-case basis," she said. - --- MAP posted-by: