In New Jersey, a recent case resulted in insurance carrier PMA Group being forced to pay for a worker’s medicinal marijuana prescription.
Steven McNeary, an employee who takes medicine for his muscular spasticity, won his case in the workers’ compensation court. This is the second time a judge in such a case has ruled in favor of the worker’s right to use marijuana as medicine. It is not a clear-cut precedent, however, given the differences between federal laws and state laws governing the use of cannabis to treat various medical conditions.
The New Jersey Law Journal — wrote about the case of McNeary v. Township of Freehold. Legal experts do not yet know if PMA Group will appeal the decision. If they do, it could move to district court, and potentially on to the US Supreme Court consideration.
This New Jersey decision flies in the face of a June ruling in Maine. In Bourgoin v. Twin Rivers Paper, the judge decided that an insurance carrier cannot be ordered to pay for marijuana, as such as payment would be in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act.
During the Obama administration, the federal government advocated for a policy in which the Department of Justice did not prosecute workers or companies taking part in state-sanctioned medical care programs. The DOJ has since abandoned that policy under the Trump administration. In response, Congress has limited the amount of federal funds, which can be earmarked for medical marijuana prosecutions.
The New Jersey judge in McNeary v. Township of Freehold wrote, in his decision:
“Certainly I don’t understand how a carrier who will never possess, never distribute, never intend to distribute these products, who will merely sign a check into an attorney’s trust account, is in any way complicit with the distribution of illegal narcotics.”