The number of Canadian veterans using medical cannabis has exploded in recent years, an audit report detailed, which comes at a growing cost to the government that pays for reimbursement.
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In 2014, 112 veterans were being reimbursed for the cost of cannabis for medical purposes, compared to more than 18,000 as of March 31, 2022, according to figures from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This represents 156 million Canadian dollars (117 million euros) of expenditure for this year, a figure which is expected to climb to more than 300 million by 2026.
“More and more veterans are submitting reimbursement claims, either because conventional treatments fail to relieve their pain, or because they cause them negative side effects,” according to an internal audit report released this week. week by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and consulted Thursday by AFP.
Within the veteran population, a “vast majority” suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
However, health authorities in Canada have contraindicated the use of cannabis for patients suffering from such disorders, the report notes. And about fifty veterans benefit from these prescriptions despite a history of drug addiction.
At the end of 2020, most of these approximately 18,000 veterans (80%) were being reimbursed for 3 grams or less per day.
The audit is concerned that “significant deficiencies remain in internal controls over veterans’ health and program management.”
Cannabis was authorized for medical purposes in 2001 in Canada and the recreational version has been legal in Canada since 2018.
A hundred veterans also received reimbursement for antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and opiates.