Big Guy Posted May 3, 2016 Report Posted May 3, 2016 (edited) The Auditor General has tabled his latest report. A summary can be found at : http://www.haidagwaiiobserver.com/national/377950821.html Criticisms are what is expected, the Liberals blame any problems on the Harper Conservatives, the Conservatives generally ignore any bad news, the NDP blames everybody. My interest was on one particular part of the report: Veterans Affairs Canada lacks adequate limits on the soaring cost and usage levels of marijuana among ex-soldiers who are using it for medical purposes, authorizing in some 340 cases the consumption of 10 grams a day - twice Health Canada's recommended threshold. The number of veterans receiving medical marijuana jumped from 112 in 2013-14 to 1,320 in 2015, and the cost rose accordingly: from $408,810 to $12.1 million. The audit estimates the cost could reach $25 million in 2016-17, nearly one third of the drug costs of the Veterans Affairs health benefits program. I do not see any problems here, except: Health Canada (which is questioning the dosage) has just recently recognized that medical marijuana use is beneficial. Health Canada's recommendations are based on politics - not medical science. This reports the use of prescribed medical marijuana. This means that the doctor dealing with any particular case has made a decision that this marijuana medication will be beneficial to that patient. Are we going to start to question doctor diagnosis and doctor/patient relationships? I suggest that the cost rose because vets discovered that Vets Affairs will finally pay for what they have been self medicating themselves with and are now using legal routes. That cost could be greatly decreased if some veteran affiliated organization (like the Canadian Legion) was licensed to create grow marijuana operations on a non-profit basis strictly for military and vets use. Growing marijuana is a rather simple process. The Liberals have to accelerate their intention to legalize marijuana. Edited May 4, 2016 by Big Guy Quote Note - For those expecting a response from Big Guy: I generally do not read or respond to posts longer then 300 words nor to parsed comments.
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