When doctors heard how much medicinal cannabis Steve Johnstone was being prescribed, they were shocked.
asserted
they → hear → cannabis
"They were gobsmacked," he said.
asserted
he → gobsmacke → ?
"They just couldn't understand how I was functioning."
asserted
I → understand → ?
He was barely functioning.
asserted
He → function → ?
In April this year, Steve was admitted to a psychiatric ward for veterans.
asserted
Steve → admit → veterans
He was paranoid, suicidal and wasn't sleeping.
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He → sleep → ?
He never should have gotten so unwell, because at the time, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) was paying thousands of dollars so two for-profit companies would provide him with the very best care.
asserted
companies → get → care
Instead, for nearly two years he was sent huge quantities of high-THC cannabis prescribed by doctors he never spoke to.
asserted
he → send → doctors
A Four Corners investigation has found some for-profit providers are aggressively targeting veterans through advertising and phone calls, spruiking "free" services and treatments funded by DVA.
asserted
providers → find → DVA
In Steve's case, one of those treatments put his life at risk.
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one → put → risk
'Why am I getting sent so much?'
asserted
I → send → ?
When Steve returned from serving as an army medic in Afghanistan in 2012, the most mundane daily activities unleashed a torrent of trauma.
asserted
activities → return → trauma
Kids crying at the shops reminded him of the children with burns and the babies he couldn't save.
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he → cry → burns
He drank to cope and abused cannabis and other drugs to numb his racing mind.
asserted
He → drink → mind
The Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) accepted his PTSD, chronic pain and substance abuse was linked to his service, allowing him to access compensation and DVA-funded treatment.
asserted
him → accept → compensation
By 2024, Steve was doing well under the care of a psychiatrist and a local GP.
asserted
Steve → do → psychiatrist
But he was plagued by chronic back pain.
asserted
he → plague → pain
"I was just scrolling my phone one day and I saw this ad pop up from VeteranCann, and it basically said, 'free natural health'.
asserted
it → scroll → health
Soon Steve was on the phone to a VeteranCann nurse who went through all his DVA accepted conditions.
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who → go → conditions
"We're pretty much getting to the fun part where we get to talk about cannabis," the nurse can be heard saying in a recording of the call.
asserted
nurse → get → call
Steve told the nurse he had a history of substance abuse but downplayed that cannabis was a problem.
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cannabis → tell → abuse
She said the next step would be a quick DVA-funded phone call with a pain specialist so the company could apply for him to access high-strength THC products.
uncertain
him → say → products
That pain specialist was the only doctor he spoke to.
asserted
he → speak → ?
Less than a month later, his prescribing doctor applied to DVA for funding to increase Steve's dose straight from 25mg THC per day to 1,220mg without ever talking to him.
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doctor → prescribe → him
Three experienced medicinal cannabis prescribers told Four Corners 1,220mg a day was unacceptable and far beyond what they'd ever seen prescribed.
asserted
they → tell → what
Vicki Kotsirilos, a Melbourne-based GP and associate professor, described it as "ghastly".
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Kotsirilos → base → it
"These are unacceptably high doses of THC and there's a real concern with looking after patients with histories of substance abuse and chronic pain without seeing the patient," she said.
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she → be → patient
As Steve's high-strength cannabis continued arriving in 5kg postage bags, the only monthly check-ins he had were with a nurse.
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he → continue → nurse
"The nurse would say to me, 'How much have you got left?'
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you → say → much
And if I had some left, I'd say, 'Look, just send me my allocated dose,'" he said.
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he → have → dose
I'd say, 'Give us the highest dose you have.'
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you → say → dose
"The pain that I've sort of suffered, from being overseas, I just wanted to numb that."
Companies like VeteranCann are generally paid more by DVA when prescribing more products or higher doses of THC.
High-strength THC has less evidence of efficacy and greater risks of dependence and psychosis.
asserted
THC → suffer → dependence
Steve says by the end of last year he was addicted, taking more than recommended and consuming huge quantities of gummy pastilles prescribed to him — each containing 40mg of THC.
asserted
he → say → THC
"[I] started getting real paranoid," he said.
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he → start → ?
"I just would see things on the news of different attacks and think someone's gonna come and attack me.
asserted
someone → see → me
"Being a medic, you trust your doctor … but I just started to question it, going, 'Why am I getting sent so much? Like, how do I get out of this?'"
asserted
I → trust → this
The rapid rise in for-profit companies for veterans began not long after the royal commission into veteran suicides found slow claims processing had put their mental health at risk.
uncertain
processing → begin → risk
The government responded by investing more than half a billion dollars in funding to better support veterans and help clear the backlog.
asserted
government → respond → backlog
The increase in funds attracted private providers keen to help veterans apply for compensation and access care.
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veterans → attract → care
Last year DVA spent a record $10 billion on compensation and another $5 billion on care.
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DVA → spend → care
…and 70 more, not listed.
The Aporia
