Canadian Vets to Have Medical Marijuana Costs Covered by Veterans Affairs

As Salem News reported on May 14, 2009 ("Canada: Feds to Pay for Military Veterans['] Medical Marijuana"), Canada's "federal government has decided to pay for medical cannabis for some veterans" in a reversal of Canadian Veterans' Affairs' previous ban on doing so. The policy is not all-inclusive, nor is it perfect; as Salem states, "Payments can be made only to veterans licensed by Health Canada to possess medical marijuana, and who buy government-certified cannabis." Additionally, the Drug War Chronicle reports that "Only about 3,000 of the estimated 400,000 people who use medical marijuana in Canada are licensed through Health Canada, and only a small fraction of them obtain their marijuana from Health Canada." Furthermore, "Patients and advocates have long complained that Health Canada's sole-source monopoly marijuana is of low quality" ("Canada: Veterans Affairs to Cover Medical Marijuana Expenses").

For more thorough coverage, take a look at the articles quoted above or check out the guidelines for yourself at Health Canada's web site.