RESTRICTING VETERANS' MEDICAL CANNABIS WILL COST LIVES

More on the new white envelope syndrome case with a clear window for all to see.
Now that is transparency!!!
If the GoC could be as transparent. 

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/nova-scotia/canada-veterans-medical-marijuana-privacy-1.3917768

I also received a similar, personal information breaching letter.

Canadian Armed Forces vet says "Cannabis gave me my life back"

But new restrictions on medical marijuana program means military veterans like Darrell Hulme will only be reimbursed for a third of the medicine they need to deal with PTSD and other conditions

By MILES KENYON
DECEMBER 30, 2016 11:06 AM


Darrell Hulme could be mistaken for a medical professional.

He can list the names of near-unpronounceable antidepressants and easily articulate the differences between the various forms of therapy they’re used for. His knowledge doesn’t come from formal schooling, but years of first-hand experience with the drugs.  

After spending close to two decades in the Canadian Armed Forces, Hulme began to experience the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He was released from the military for medical reasons in 2015.

He says he was taking between 12-15 pills a day – “opioids, Benzos, SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors), tranquilizers” – for almost a decade to deal with the effects of depression, anxiety and insomnia caused by his PTSD. The side effects from the drugs became so severe that he attempted suicide three times and was a patient in various psychiatric wards.

“The pharmaceuticals turned him into a monster,” says his partner, Ashley, over the phone from their home in Manitoba.

Everything changed, Hulme says, after he applied for a prescription for medical marijuana and started using various strains of cannabis to treat his condition. He felt relief for the first time in years.

Before discovering marijuana, Hulme says. “I never left my house.” Now, “I function very well as long as I have my medicine.”

He spends much of his time these days educating other veterans as well as first responders about the benefits of marijuana in helping to treat not only PTSD, but chronic pain and other ailments – “To help them get away,” he says, “from more dangerous pharmaceuticals.”

Hulme volunteers for Marijuana for Trauma Inc. (MFT), a New Brunswick-based, veteran-operated medical marijuana referral service, recently acquired by Abba Medix Group. MFT runs 14 clinics across Canada, assisting some 4,000 clients with the ins and outs of navigating the federal government’s medical marijuana access program. MFT also offers peer and spousal support programs.

“Cannabis can kick addiction. I’ve seen it in hundreds of cases including my own pharmaceutical addiction and alcohol abuse,” says Hulme.

But now, because of a recent federal government decision, he’s afraid his nightmare will return.

In November, Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr announced new restrictions on the medical marijuana reimbursement policy. Effective May 2017 veterans, who are currently reimbursed for up to 10 grams of cannabis per day, will only be eligible for a maximum three grams a day.

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) cites information from the College of Family Physicians of Canada, which instructs medical professionals “to start low and go slow” when it comes to prescribing marijuana, as part of its rationale for the change. VAC says that three grams should be plenty for most individuals – the average dispensed by Health Canada’s medical marijuana program for all patients is 2.6 grams.

The government also cites possible abuse by licensed producers as a reason for the changes. Under the new rules, they will only be allowed to charge a maximum $8.50 a gram. As previously reported, some producers and storefront dispensaries have been directing veterans to specific products that were priced much higher, upwards of $15 a gram.

According to the department, 3,071 veterans have claimed $31 million in medical pot from April to September this year, a significant increase from the five veterans who claimed $19,088 when the program first started in 2008.

Overall use of the prescription drug program also available to vets has trended downward in the last few years, confirms VAC press secretary Sarah McMaster, leading some to question if a decrease in pharmaceutical spending requires a policy change where medical marijuana is concerned. However, McMaster contends there is no link between the two and that the trend in pharmaceutical use "can be attributed in part" to the fewer veterans using the prescription drug program.

The new reimbursement program will include exemptions for vets in “exceptional circumstances.” That process, according to a VAC backgrounder, “will require additional documentation from medical specialists [a psychiatrist, pain specialist, oncologist] related to a veteran’s specific needs.

“The opinion of the medical specialist must include the rationale for the use of more than three grams, confirmation that there are no contraindications, and an indication that alternative treatments were ineffective or contraindicated.”

Hulme, who uses 10 grams a day, is worried the new policy will leave many veterans with PTSD where they started “back in the basement again, stuck in the bottom of a bottle, trying to get to sleep at night.”  

“[Cannabis] gave me my life back,” he says.

A group of veterans is planning a nationwide march to Parliament Hill to protest the decision, organized by Marijuana for Trauma Inc. The group plans on landing on the steps of Parliament Hill just days before the new policy comes into effect.

Some in the industry support the coming changes.

“In our clinic, the average prescription is about a gram per day, maybe less than a gram a day,” says Ronan Levy, director at Canadian Cannabis Clinics, the largest clinic specializing in connecting weed-friendly doctors to patients in the country.

But others, like Dr. Greg Passey, a psychiatrist who often treats individuals for PTSD – an area he knows very well, being a former soldier – believe the policy changes are shortsighted, if not hypocritical.

Passey says many pharmaceutical drugs typically used to treat PTSD are not specifically approved for the condition, meaning that doctors are left to prescribe what they believe will best suit their patients. He argues the same should be true for cannabis.

“Veteran’s Affairs says there’s not a lot of evidence about marijuana and its efficacy, but they have no problem paying for a very expensive medication for which there is absolutely no evidence that it’s beneficial in PTSD.

“The issue is: we treat the individual, we don’t treat the group. I’ve got some people who only require one gram and I’ve got some people who take 10 grams.”

He says that doctors often prescribe over the recommended doses for some pain medications and anti-psychotics because they prove to be effective for some patients. Passey argues that for the government to intervene in deciding what should be a legal limit for prescribing marijuana is completely outside its jurisdiction.

“It’s interfering in the doctor-patient relationship and the treatment regime and that’s not appropriate,” he says.

Passey says most vets who require more than three grams a day won’t be approved for the exemptions because there are very few medical professionals who specialize in PTSD treatment and even fewer who are also knowledgeable in the prescription of medical marijuana.

He argues the new regime will preclude some vets from receiving treatment that has been effective for them – and may fly in the face of a June 2015 Supreme Court of Canada decision, which found restricting access to marijuana unconstitutional.

Says Hulme, “We’ve fought long enough and we’re tired of fighting. We know we’re going to die without this stuff.”

https://nowtoronto.com/news/cannabis-gave-me-my-life-back/

He said VAC’s position is that the mailout was handled by Canada Post, whose employees are bound to maintain confidentiality?

and so are Veterans Affairs Canada, especially reference my medical condition that requires the use of MMJ.
Might as well tell them all about my medical file.
Not a happy vet,

Veterans say mail from VAC outs medical marijuana users

ANDREA GUNN | OTTAWA BUREAU
Published December 30, 2016 - 6:22pm
Last Updated December 30, 2016 - 6:22pm


This is one of the envelopes mailed out this week that has veterans accusing the government of a shocking breach of privacy.

Veterans across Canada are reporting a security breach involving mail sent out by Veterans Affairs Canada that lets anyone looking at the outside of the envelope know it was issued under the federal medical marijuana program.

Veteran Jason Hemsworth received a piece of mail with information regarding his medical marijuana prescription, which is covered through Medavie-Blue Cross. Under the little plastic window displaying his address, it reads “Re: Cannabis for Medical Purposes,” for anyone to see.

Hemsworth said he called VAC right away. After being passed back and forth between VAC and Blue Cross, Hemsworth said he spoke with a supervisor who confirmed the letter should have been sent in a windowless envelope.

The former Haligonian said 3,000 similar letters were issued.

“Having my address as well as my personal medical information put out there by those that are supposed to keep it safe is a grave violation, as well as a security risk for not only myself and my family, but for the other 3,000 veterans that received this letter,” Hemsworth said.

A photo posted on a Facebook group for Canadian veterans attracted comments from dozens of others who received similar letters.

One woman posted that she feared for her safety as she and her husband use a community mailbox, and there had been frequent burglaries in her area recently.

A call and email to Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr’s office Friday afternoon did not yield a response by deadline.

Hemsworth said in an email Friday evening that VAC staff did reply to him.

“VAC just got back to me and said they don’t feel that it’s enough of a security breach,” he said.

“They will wait until they get the report next week and review it.”

He said VAC’s position is that the mailout was handled by Canada Post, whose employees are bound to maintain confidentiality “so all is good according to them.”

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1428198-veterans-say-mail-from-vac-outs-medical-marijuana-users

Marc Davis

Restricting Veterans' Medical Cannabis Will Cost Lives
Posted: 12/12/2016 4:02 pm EST Updated: 12/12/2016 4:21 pm EST



Why are so many military veterans reeling with "a sense of anger, hurt, frustration and betrayal?"

And why is a group of them marching on Parliament Hill?

Shockingly, it's because ex-servicemen with PTSD aren't getting our government's respect and full support.

Consequently, the suicide rate among ex-servicemen is at an all-time high. (I'll explain in a moment.)

This disregard is going to accelerate an already alarming body count of ex-servicemen driven to suicide.

Consider this: Canadian soldiers on active duty in war-torn regions like Afghanistan have always had the benefit of a mighty military infrastructure to back them up. Whether help comes in the form of artillery fire, jet fighters, or helicopter gunships, no expense is spared to support and protect our troops when the bullets start flying.

But is the federal government willing to continue to fork out $85 a day to keep each of our veterans with PTSD out of harm's way?

Apparently not!

And this disregard is going to accelerate an already alarming body count of ex-servicemen driven to suicide, according to some veterans' advocates.

Tragically, they're probably right.

What's at issue is Veterans Affairs' recent decision to severely curtail veterans' monthly allocations of medical marijuana -- a government-paid treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain.

On Monday, a small group of ex-servicemen mobilized from the headquarters of a veterans support group -- Marijuana for Trauma (MFT) -- in Oromocto, New Brunswick.

This winter march to Ottawa is expected to take 158 days -- a figure that corresponds with the number of veterans (so far) who have committed suicide after serving in Afghanistan.

Leading the long, tough slog is Fabian Henry, an Afghanistan war veteran and PTSD sufferer, who is also MFT's founder.

En-route to Ottawa, he and his comrades-in-arms expect to encounter snow, sleet, pounding rain and frigid sub-zero temperatures.



But none of this will chill their hearts as much as Veterans Affairs' "horrendous betrayal," Henry says. "They want to save money by playing Russian roulette with veterans' lives."

He deals with suffering, stressed-out veterans every day. So I'm pretty sure he's not being melodramatic.

What's at stake is veterans' current legal access to as much as 10 grams of cannabis per day. That's meant to end on May 17 -- the day before MFT's protest march will culminate in a rally at Parliament.

The new ruling will ration each veteran to a maximum dosage of three grams a day. (Currently most consume about eight grams daily, Henry reckons.)



This is necessary because the estimated $75-million cost this year for ex-soldiers' medical marijuana prescriptions is excessive. So says the Minister of Veterans Affairs, Kent Hehr.

A lawyer by profession, Hehr hasn't put his life on the line for his country and presumably doesn't have job-related PTSD. So he may not be in the best position to regard our hurting heroes as a bunch of stoners who over-indulge at taxpayers' expense.

Among those speaking out against the cutbacks is Shauna Davies, who served for 10 years in the military. Davies recently penned a heartfelt open letter to Hehr in which she referred to herself as "the wife of an injured veteran whose life has quite literally been saved by medical cannabis."

Her husband, Cyriaque, has battled severe PTSD for nearly a decade, ever since he returned from active duty as a medic in Afghanistan.

This must be why she writes that she finders herself "torn with a sense of anger, hurt, frustration and betrayal... Veterans should not have to fight their own government for the support and compensation they have earned."

The unacceptable alternative to cannabis for her husband and other veterans is a "smorgasbord" of debilitating pharmaceutical drugs that have the combined effect of a "chemical lobotomy," she writes.



Some of these drugs can even cause veterans to become suicidal, she adds.

"I have helped my own husband from the brink after four suicide attempts, all which were proven to be directly caused by the medication interactions," the post continues. "In using medical cannabis, my husband has been able to cease using dangerous pharmaceutical medications. And he is far from alone."

Now she's terrified of what will happen if her husband's daily dosage is cut back to less than a third of what he needs. She concludes her poignant letter with a desperate plea: "This is life and death and the consequences will be devastating. I finally have my husband back. My children finally have their Daddy back. I beg you not to take him away from us again."



Even at a cost of $85 a day for 10 grams, it's still relatively inexpensive medicine. The alternative for each PTSD sufferer is a "toxic cocktail" of pharmaceutical drugs that can cost up to hundreds of dollars a day.

Is Davies asking for too much?

Is her husband's mental and emotional health worth more than 25 bucks a day? Or should her daughters resign themselves to losing their daddy again?



http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/marc-davis-/marijuana-veterans-ptsd_b_13585894.html