As a patient and a veteran, I would have to say no. When you're dealing with veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder—who make up a large chunk of the medical cannabis patients in Canada—any time you throw a wrench at any type of system, you're going to have issues. Veterans will see any form of unforeseen circumstance or any form of unknown change in a bad light until it's fully explained.
For us as veterans, luckily most of the licensed producers have absorbed that excise tax. However, on the back end, that may not be the best thing for the department. If they're forced to eat one dollar per gram on an $8.50 gram, they may skimp some other procedures or policies in creating the actual cannabis, and we may see a substandard product at the end because of it.
If they are allowed to put that money towards production, paying their people and ensuring it's done properly, with full quality, it wouldn't negatively impact at all. Most producers have been absorbing it.