Within the spectrum of care for the Canadian Forces health services, we have a full suite of medications available which would include narcotics and non-narcotic pain medications. We also have modalities like physiotherapy, referral to chiropractors, and those types of modalities to help with pain management. Occasionally, we need to refer folks to specialty pain management clinics in order to assist members with their pain management.
In the forces you've expressed concern about problems with misuse of prescription medications. We have a survey that we do every four years called the health and lifestyle inventory survey in which we do have personnel reports on drug usage. That study would suggest to us that there is a very small percentage of personnel who are reporting anonymously whether or not they have used prescription medications inappropriately. I don't have the specific number in my head, but it was a very small percentage of personnel that reported that.
As part of our treatment suite, we also have addiction counsellors available to us, who work in our mental health clinics and who are certainly available to help anybody who is starting to have any issues with respect to substance abuse, whichever type of substance that may be, whether it's prescription or non-prescription medications.