High court denial to hear state pot comp cases muddies issue: Advocate

A Washington, D.C.-based medical marijuana advocacy group says the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to not weigh in on whether employees can be reimbursed for their medical marijuana-related costs through their workers compensation further complicates the issue of state regulations versus the federal government.

NORML issued a statement on the June 21 federal court’s denial of certiorari to not intervene on several divergent state supreme court decisions “only further exacerbated the split between the highest state courts as it continues to evade the fundamental question with regard to cannabis’ medical validity, a key factor in the Schedule I designation,” said David Holland, the executive and legal director of Empire State NORML, in a statement issued Friday.

That marijuana remains illegal at the federal level has left the workers comp industry confused over what to do when an injured worker seeks medical marijuana treatment for pain or other ailments, as permitted in some states. 

In 2021, supreme courts in New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York upheld employees’ ability to be financially reimbursed for their use of medical cannabis, while the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled the opposite, according to NORML.

Currently, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York explicitly allow for employees to have their medical cannabis expenses reimbursed. By contrast, seven states expressly prohibit workers compensation insurers from reimbursing medical marijuana-related costs: Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Florida, North Dakota, Ohio and Washington.

In all other jurisdictions, the law is either silent on the issue or states that insurers are “not required” to reimburse employees who are injured on the job for the costs related to their use of medical cannabis, according to NORML.