Aurora Executive Warns Canada’s Planned Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Cut Could Harm Veterans

A senior Aurora Cannabis executive is warning that Canada’s planned reduction in medical marijuana reimbursement for veterans and eligible RCMP members could disrupt care, push patients away from clinically appropriate products and create instability in the medical marijuana system. In an opinion piece published today by National Newswatch, Rick Savone, Aurora’s senior vice president of global government relations, criticized the federal government’s decision in Budget 2025 to lower the reimbursement ceiling from $8.50 per gram to $6.00 per gram beginning April 1, 2026.

The change applies to benefits provided through Veterans Affairs Canada and the RCMP. The federal government says the lower reimbursement rate better reflects current market prices for medical marijuana and is expected to save $4.4 billion over four years, although that figure has been met with skepticism from critics who question how such savings could be achieved without major disruption to the program.

Savone argues the government is using recreational marijuana pricing as the benchmark for a medical program that serves patients with very different needs. “This new pricing model raises legitimate concerns because it fails to accurately reflect the medical realities of the Veterans’ program and, ultimately, risks undermining treatment continuity for tens of thousands of Veterans,” he wrote.

He also challenged the scale of the projected savings, saying the numbers do not line up with the program’s historical cost. “The cost of the CMP program for Veterans has averaged about $150 million annually since 2016, meaning generating savings that count anywhere close to billions is going to be transformational and deeply disruptive to patients,” Savone wrote.

A central concern, according to Savone, is that the new reimbursement model would effectively tie a medical program to recreational marijuana pricing. “Medical cannabis and recreational cannabis, however, are not the same product,” he wrote, noting that many veterans rely on oils, extracts, CBD-forward products and topicals designed for medical use and produced under stricter manufacturing standards. He said up to 80% of the products veterans use do not exist in the recreational market at comparable price points or quality levels.

Savone warned that the reimbursement change could also alter treatment decisions by pushing doctors and patients toward cheaper products rather than the most effective ones. “If reimbursement is tied to recreational averages, physicians may find their clinical decisions increasingly shaped by what is reimbursable rather than what is therapeutically appropriate,” he wrote.

The piece also includes concerns from Dr. Nick Withers, a 22-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces and an emergency physician who prescribes medical marijuana to veterans. “Many of my Veteran patients are finally stable after years of trying different treatments,” he said. “If reimbursement forces them to switch products based on price rather than clinical response, we risk compromising their well-being after finally identifying medications that are safe and effective.”

Withers said the policy could also have unintended consequences if patients are pushed away from oral and topical treatments and toward inhaled marijuana. “This policy change is more likely to push patients toward inhaled cannabis,” he said. “The human cost of disrupting effective therapy may unfortunately manifest with increased use of opioids, alcohol, or other substances that have significant potential for poor long-term health outcomes.”

Savone also criticized how the policy was introduced, saying clinicians and industry stakeholders were not consulted before the change was announced. He urged the federal government to suspend the change for at least six to 12 months, hold formal consultations, conduct a health impact assessment and ensure that any transition protects veterans currently enrolled in the program.

“Canada’s obligation to Veterans is reflected not only in words, but in the careful design of the programs that support them,” Savone wrote. “Getting that balance right is sound policy, and a practical way to honour those who served.”