Comp & Cannabis Blog

Medical Marijuana has become a relatively mainstream and popular treatment alternative for pain and other health conditions.

Today, on a day usually associated with green but also beer, the Commonwealth Court, in Fegley v Firestone Tire & Rubber (WCAB), 680 C.D. 2021 issued a decision, authored by Judge Covey and joined by all but one dissenting Judge that Section 2102 of PA’s Medical Marijuana Act and Workers’ Compensation Act allow reimbursement of the cost of MMJ used to treat work injuries.

Today I want to break away from my usual format and take a closer look at the emerging occupational hazards for those employed in manufacturing medical and adult-use marijuana. While medical marijuana provides immense benefits to many, such benefits should not come at the expense of those who make their living growing and processing cannabis products.

I am happy to report that the Commonwealth Court has scheduled oral argument before the Court En Banc in one of my cases seeking to have an injured worker reimbursed for his out-of-pocket medical marijuana costs. This will be the first time that the Commonwealth Court will weigh in on this issue.

Minnesota Supreme Court Finds Controlled Substances Act Pre-Empts Minnesota’s Medical Marijuana Law: Petition for a Writ of Certiorari Made to United States Supreme Court to Resolve Conflict of Federal/State Law.

For the first time, a PA Workers’ Compensation Judge has ordered a workers’ comp carrier to reimburse an injured worker for her out-of-pocket costs of using Medical Marijuana to treat her work injury. My client was injured in 2015 while working as a traveling nurse.

The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed the Hager decision yesterday and ruled that NJ Workers’ Compensation carriers can be compelled to reimburse injured workers using MMJ to treat their work injuries. Vincent Hager v. M &K Construction, A-64 September Term 2019 084045 (NJ Supreme 2021).

It is disappointing to report that a Western PA WCJ recently denied my client's request for MMJ reimbursement. My client, Ronette Schepis, was injured in 1992 and underwent multiple surgeries on her left knee.

Yesterday NJ Superior Court directed a workers' compensation carrier to reimburse an injured worker for treatment with medical marijuana. The court refused to conclude that the Federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) preempted New Jersey's Medical Marijuana and Workers' Compensation Statutes.