DVA Funded Providers Prescribed Veteran Dangerous THC Doses

They were gobsmacked. They just couldn’t understand how I was functioning.

Steve Johnstone

A Department of Veterans’ Affairs-funded medicinal cannabis provider prescribed veteran Steve Johnstone 1,220mg of THC per day after a single phone call with a doctor he never spoke to again, an ABC Four Corners investigation reported. The prescription vastly exceeded standard clinical thresholds, pushing the former army medic into a psychiatric ward admission for paranoia, suicidal ideation, and insomnia.

Targeting Veterans With Free Natural Health Schemes

The rapid rise of for-profit medicinal cannabis providers targeting veterans followed a royal commission into veteran suicides that exposed dangerous delays in claims processing. In response, the federal government poured more than half a billion dollars into backing veteran care and clearing bureaucratic backlogs. Private commercial entities quickly emerged to help veterans file compensation claims while marketing government-funded treatments. Steve Johnstone encountered one such company, VeteranCann, after seeing a social media advertisement promoting free natural health services.

During an initial intake telephone consultation with a company nurse, Johnstone disclosed a history of substance abuse while minimizing ongoing cannabis dependence. The nurse recorded the interaction, telling him the call was reaching the fun part where they discussed cannabis. That conversation led to a brief telephone consultation with a pain specialist who served as the sole medical practitioner Johnstone ever spoke with through the provider. Less than a month afterward, his prescribing doctor applied directly to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for funding increases without scheduling follow-up consultations.

Unprecedented THC Dosage Levels Prescribed Without Consultations

The funding application sought to boost Johnstone’s daily THC intake from an initial 25mg straight to 1,220mg per day. Three experienced medicinal cannabis prescribers interviewed by ABC Four Corners stated that a 1,220mg daily dose was entirely unacceptable and far exceeded any quantity they had encountered in clinical practice. Melbourne-based general practitioner and associate professor Vicki Kotsirilos characterized the prescription as ghastly.

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.

Vicki Kotsirilos

As shipments of high-strength cannabis products arrived in five-kilogram postage bags, Johnstone’s ongoing monitoring consisted entirely of monthly check-ins with a nurse. He recalled that the nurse routinely asked how much product he had remaining, allowing him to order maximum quantities to numb the psychological trauma stemming from his 2012 deployment as an army medic in Afghanistan. Commercial providers operating in this space generally receive higher financial compensation from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs when issuing larger product volumes or higher THC concentrations.

Psychiatric Hospitalization Follows Heavy Gummy and Flower Consumption

By late last year, Johnstone was consuming large quantities of prescribed gummy pastilles containing 40mg of THC each, alongside cannabis flower. The heavy intake triggered severe paranoia, causing him to fear imminent attacks after watching news broadcasts. High-strength THC formulations carry elevated risks of chemical dependence and psychosis, paired with limited evidence supporting efficacy for chronic pain.