ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-10-04 · by Elise Worthington, Maddy King, and Amy Donaldson
Steve Johnstone, a veteran suffering from PTSD and chronic pain after serving as an army medic in Afghanistan, received excessive amounts of medicinal cannabis through for-profit companies funded by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA). In April 2024, he was hospitalized due to paranoia, suicidal thoughts, and insomnia. A Four Corners investigation revealed that Steve's prescriptions were increased dramatically without proper medical oversight; his prescribing doctor applied for funding to increase his dose significantly in just one month. Medical experts consulted by the program described these high doses as "ghastly" and unsafe, especially given Steve’s history of substance abuse.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
When doctors heard how much medicinal cannabis Steve Johnstone was being prescribed, they were shocked.
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they → hear → cannabis
"They were gobsmacked," he said.
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he → gobsmacke → ?
"They just couldn't understand how I was functioning."
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I → understand → ?
He was barely functioning.
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He → function → ?
In April this year, Steve was admitted to a psychiatric ward for veterans.
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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.
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companies → get → care
Instead, for nearly two years he was sent huge quantities of high-THC cannabis prescribed by doctors he never spoke to.
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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.
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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?'
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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.
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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.
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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.
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him → accept → compensation
By 2024, Steve was doing well under the care of a psychiatrist and a local GP.
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Steve → do → psychiatrist
But he was plagued by chronic back pain.
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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'.
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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.
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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.
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him → say → products
That pain specialist was the only doctor he spoke to.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?'"
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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.
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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.
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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