In February 2022, Provocatus, an Australian and Veteran Owned pharmaceutical company, launched a compassionate program to assist Australian Defence Force (ADF) Veterans to access medicinal cannabis treatment.

Provocatus’ decision to launch this program was based on the fact that, unlike non-veteran patients, ADF Veterans seeking medicinal cannabis face a number of barriers which not only delay (and in some circumstances prevent) treatment access, but also make medicinal cannabis treatment more costly.

Provocatus’ compassionate access program, otherwise known as the Veteran Access Scheme (VAS), provides eligible veteran patients with a supply of medicinal cannabis products to cover the period of time it takes for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) to process their treatment claim.

The VAS has been established with two pathways:

• Pathway A – Pathway A is the chronic pain pathway. Patients accepted onto Pathway A will receive medicinal cannabis products to the value of $1000.00.
• Pathway B – Pathway B is the mental health pathway. Patients accepted onto Pathway B will receive subsidised medicinal cannabis products to the value of $700.00 for a total period of 12 months.

As the VAS aims to prevent fragmented care, it is recommended that patient’s speak to their own doctor in the first instance about whether medicinal cannabis treatment is the right option for them. Provocatus has developed a number of resources to assist patients with this conversation, and which also provide information more generally about access to the VAS.

These resources are available on the Veteran Access Scheme page on the Provocatus website.

If your doctor is not supportive of medicinal cannabis treatment or you would like to speak to a member of the VAS project team for further information, please email them at vas@theprovocatus.com.