Federal cannabis prohibition & workers' comp

The House Judiciary Committee has approved the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, bringing the potential for the bill to be reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and raising the potential end of federal cannabis prohibition.

If passed by Congress, the law would deschedule cannabis, see to the reinvestment in “persons” adversely impacted by the War on Drugs and expunge certain nonviolent criminal offenses. It would also aim to open up financial services for legitimate cannabis businesses as well as prohibit the denial of public benefits to a person based on certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions.

Related: Fast-changing cannabis landscape raises numerous questions for employers

“This bill would be a huge improvement on the status quo and is helping to further the conversation about what effective federal cannabis policy looks like,” Aaron Smith, co-founder and CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said in a release. “Removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is absolutely necessary, and the MORE Act would be a big step in the right direction for restorative justice and making sure that small businesses and members of marginalized communities who have been disproportionately harmed by prohibition can benefit from the opportunities created by regulated cannabis markets.”

Along with the end of federal prohibition comes the question of how workers’ compensation systems would respond to the change when it comes to reimbursements for medical marijuana.

Descheduling might end marijuana’s designation as a Schedule I narcotic under the CSA and Drug Enforcement Agency’s control. However, other federal agencies could still have oversight, according to a recent paper from experts in the worker’s comp field, including the National Council on Compensation Insurance and the Workers Compensation Research Institute.

The paper pointed out the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over drugs, foods, dietary supplements, medical devices, cosmetics and tobacco products.

According to the paper, any cannabis products or “constituents” involved in interstate commerce would fall under the purview of the FDA. The same holds true for any product that falls under one of the agency’s regulated categories. In both scenarios, the FDA could take enforcement actions. With the chance of continued federal oversight comes the potential for further murkiness when it comes to workers’ comp reimbursement questions.

As it stands, 36 states have legalized cannabis for qualifying medical conditions, and it is legal in some form in 47 states. Among those, six allow medical cannabis reimbursement through workers’ comp due to court rulings, while six states expressly prohibit it through law. Further, 14 states do not require it and the remaining 10 have no discernable position.

Editor’s Note: ALM now offers cannabis certification for insurance professionals. For more details, visit www.nutraining.com.

Read more: 

• Marijuana use among workers increasing, opioids decreasing
• The decline of the employment drug test
• Focus on employee marijuana use should change