Former NDP MP Peter Stoffer agrees that medical cannabis can have benefits for veterans, but says he's worried about the amount of cannabis former soldiers are allowed under Veterans Affairs Canada rules.

Stoffer, who was veterans affairs critic for the NDP until he was defeated in the 2015 election, believes that the high level of medical marijuana allowed by Veterans Affairs — up to 10 grams a day — is fostering overuse.

"Ten grams a day is an awful lot of marijuana to give one person. It is an incredible amount."

Stoffer is now public affairs advocate for Trauma Healing Centers, a company that works with veterans, first responders and others dealing with trauma and chronic pain. While he says cannabis can help veterans who are suffering, he says the goal is to help manage their pain, not to get them high.

"That's simply not the way to go. You're not helping that person at all. You're not giving them any chance of recovery. All you're really doing is masking the pain that they're suffering," Stoffer said.

The Trauma Healing Centres offer counselling as well as medical cannabis consultations.

"What you need to do is really sit down with these individuals, and long before you dispense any marijuana, look at their lifestyle: what are they doing, what are they eating, where do they live, how is their financial situation, how is their personal situation?" he added.

Veterans Affairs doesn't actually give veterans medical marijuana, but the department allows them to be compensated for up to 10 grams a day through insurance. Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr said back in March that he was launching an internal review of medical marijuana policy, after data showed the number of prescriptions had increased tenfold in two years.

The results of that review will be released "in the coming weeks," Veterans Affairs Canada spokeswoman Sarah McMaster told CBC News.

"Veterans Affairs Canada is finalizing its review that assesses the department's current approach to reimbursing marijuana for medical purposes," she said in a written statement.

The auditor general expressed concern that 10 grams was too much in his spring 2016 report.

Auditor general wants better monitoring

"This is double the amount identified as being appropriate in Veterans Affairs Canada's consultations with external health professionals, and more than three times the amount that Health Canada has reported as being most commonly utilized by individuals for medical purposes," the report said.

The auditor's report also pointed out that while Veterans Affairs manages the only publicly funded plan that covers medical marijuana, "it does not monitor trends that may suggest high-risk utilization."