Veterans Alliance of Canada | Access to medically-approved cannabis for OSIs & pain

CANNABIS SUPPORT

Veterans Alliance of Canada helps you get back to enjoying life.

Veterans Alliance of Canada helps bridge the gap between how you’re feeling now and where you want your health to be. We help our members use medicinal marijuana to ease long-term pain and other issues.

If you are dealing with an injury or condition that is reducing your quality of life, medical cannabis (cannabis) can be a remarkably effective treatment.

CF Veterans

We help Veterans get registered with Veterans Affairs so producers direct bill Veterans Affairs for your prescription.

Civilians

Many of our members are non-Veterans including RCMP, police, firefighters, EMTs, and the general public.

For Canadian Forces Veterans

At the Veterans Alliance of Canada, our specialty is helping Canadian Forces Veterans of all ages to optimize their quality of life and physical and mental health. We take a two-pronged approach to healing:

We help Veterans get access to safe, legal cannabis for medical purposes
We provide peer support that helps alleviate feelings of isolation

Medicinal cannabis

Since 2008, Veterans Affairs Canada has authorized cannabis as a treatment for a variety of medical conditions. Canadian Veterans are eligible to receive up to three grams per day of dried cannabis (or its equivalent in fresh cannabis or cannabis oil) from licensed producers. We will help you get registered with Veterans Affairs Canada so you will not have to pay out of pocket—the producer will direct bill Veterans Affairs.

According to the government of Canada, “numerous federal licensed sellers offer some of their strains at this price point, meaning that Veterans are able to access a variety of products within the reimbursement amount.”

For Canadian Civilians

Our membership has expanded over the years to include many non-Veterans, including RCMP members, municipal police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and the general public. You do not have to be a Veteran to become a member and access our services.

For our civilian client base, we offer access to a physician who will assess your needs to ensure that medical cannabis is an option to treat your ailment. We provide you with the education required to understand how to treat your condition, and we connect you with one of our licensed producers for their medication.

There is no reimbursement for non-Veterans who purchase cannabis from a licensed producer, but if you are a civilian VAC member, you can check with your insurance provider to see if you qualify for coverage. If you have no coverage, keep your receipts, because you can still claim your cannabis purchases as a medical expense with CRA during tax season.

How It Works

You contact the Veterans Alliance of Canada

Pick up the phone, send us an email, or use our online contact form. In our initial conversation, we will get to know you and your situation. Then we’ll explain how we can help you and how the process works, and we will walk you through the next steps you need to take (for example, obtaining and completing the necessary paperwork from Veterans Affairs).

We connect you with a doctor

Once all your paperwork has been properly filled out and received, we will book you in to see a doctor. Depending on the nature of your condition or injury, we might refer you to an M.D. and/or a psychiatrist.

The doctor will be able to provide you with a prescription for up to three grams of cannabis per day. (Note: according to Veterans Affairs Canada, some Veterans may be eligible to be reimbursed for more than three grams per day, based on additional documentation to be provided by “a medical specialist with expertise in the diagnosed condition for which you are being treated by cannabis.” We can assist with this.

We teach you about cannabis

Next, we’ll set up an education session for you with one of our advisers, who will help you learn more about cannabis and choose what may work best for your situation. You’ll discuss things like:

Delivery methods (oils, capsules, edibles, vaporizers, etc.)
Different types or strains of cannabis (indica and sativa) and their effects
The difference between THC (the psychoactive compound) and CBD (won’t get you high)
When and how much to medicate

A lot of information is given during this session, but you don’t have to remember it all—our members have access to help from us whenever they need it.

We connect you with a licensed producer to place your order

We have established contracts with numerous government-regulated cannabis producers. We will discuss the pros and cons of each producer with you so you can make an informed decision about who to order from.

Then you simply order by phone or online from your preferred producer. Your order is usually delivered within 48 hours to your home.

Operational Stress Injuries

An operational stress injury (OSI) is any persistent psychological difficulty resulting from operational duties performed while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces or as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

It is used to describe a broad range of problems which include diagnosed psychiatric conditions such as anxiety disorders, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as other conditions that may be less severe, but still interfere with daily functioning.

CANNABIS Support