Medical marijuana bill would clear way for reimbursement

A bill proposed in Louisiana would repeal the state provision that an employer and their workers compensation insurer are not required to pay for medical marijuana for injured workers.

H.B. 351, introduced Wednesday and sent to committee, would set parameters for workers who receive recommendations to use medical marijuana for treatment.

The bill mostly addresses that a worker would not be barred from benefits such as unemployment if they use medical marijuana yet includes language that would call on comp insurers to cover the drug for a “(q)ualifying medical marijuana patient,” which is described as “an individual who has been clinically diagnosed as suffering from a debilitating medical condition and an authorized clinician has recommended marijuana for therapeutic use.”