States and insurers now know what President Donald Trump’s administration will do with medical marijuana: nothing.
President Trump signed House Resolution 244 Friday, a $1.1 trillion appropriations plan that includes language that will prevent the federal government from spending money to fight medical marijuana, which is still considered a Schedule I drug by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration but is now legal in 29 states.
According to a press statement from the White House, a section of the bill “provides that the Department of Justice may not use any funds to prevent implementation of medical marijuana laws by various states and territories.”
“I will treat this provision consistently with my constitutional responsibility to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” President Trump said in a statement.
Workers compensation experts have been in wait-and-see mode on the future of medical marijuana, given Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ negative stance on the substance the federal government considers illegal despite voters in states overwhelmingly approving its use for medicinal purposes.
Total cost per claim has decreased 6.4% since a reduction in medical fee schedule rates, but workers compensation costs in Illinois remain higher than other states, according to a recent study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.