Manitoba's 1st medicinal marijuana centre for veterans opens

It's a sight typically seen in Royal Canadian Legion halls — veterans gathered and sharing stories. But instead, that was the scene at the opening ceremony for a new wellness centre in Headingley, Man. this weekend, which focuses on helping vets get medical marijuana.

The province's first Marijuana for Trauma centre opened on Saturday morning, the 13th such centre the company has opened in Canada.

The centre, located west of the Perimeter Highway at 4280 Portage Ave., helps veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions get access to marijuana for medicinal purposes.

"Marijuana for Trauma grew from an absolute need, a true need," said Riley McGee, the western Canada director of operations for the company.

The centre is not a marijuana dispensary, but instead provides peer support and specialized programs, and can help people connect with licensed producers and doctors who can provide prescriptions.

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Marijuana for Trauma was founded in 2013 in Fredericton, N.B., by a former military combat engineer to help veterans with PTSD, chronic pain or other medical conditions. McGee said it now helps around 3,000 veterans across the country, along with civilians, access marijuana.

McGee said he understands how important access to medicinal marijuana can be — he has been using it for about 10 years to treat his own PTSD after serving in Afghanistan.

'Using it to feel normal'

"[PTSD is] almost like a rage bubbling up that you have trouble controlling. It scares you and scares the people around you. It's very damaging," he said.

McGee initially treated his PTSD through black-market marijuana and said he was worried about it having an impact on his career. That's why he said it's important to have places like Marijuana for Trauma, where veterans can get information and help break the stigma around medicinal marijuana use.

"That's what people really need to understand, that medical cannabis use is not about getting high … We are using it to feel normal, to level ourselves out and treat our symptoms," he said.

Veterans Affairs allows compensation for up to 10 grams of medicinal marijuana a day through insurance.But in March, Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr launched an internal review of medical marijuana policy after data showed the number of prescriptions had increased significantly in two years.

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In 2013-14, 112 veterans were reimbursed for medical marijuana. The next year, there were 628. In the first nine months of the 2015-16 fiscal year, that number shot up to 1,320, according to figures provided to CBC by Veterans Affairs in March.

In November, Hehr said Veterans Affairs would start scaling back the limit from 10 grams to three grams per day. McGee said that can have serious consequences, and he uses about five to eight grams a day.

'Blood on their hands'

"Cutting people's medicine down by 75 per cent is crazy. They [Veterans Affairs] are going to have blood on their hands. They literally will," he said. "You can't cut down 75 per cent of someone's medicine and expect to have positive results."

Veterans in exceptional circumstances will be able to get a larger amount but a psychiatrist, pain specialist, oncologist or other health specialist will have to submit an application explaining the reason. Veterans will be allowed to continue claiming their current amount until May 21, 2017.

The department will also set a limit on how much licensed producers can charge, capping the amount at $8.50 per gram, which McGee says he understands.