Medical marijuana treatments can’t be reimbursed under federal workers’ compensation laws, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
“Federal law thus categorically bars marijuana from being deemed a reasonable and necessary medical expense” for purposes of the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, said Judge William J. Nardini for the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
The appeals court denied a petition for review from Luis Peña Garcia, a resident of Puerto Rico seeking reimbursement for cannabis-infused edibles under the LHWCA.
Peña sought reimbursement of medical marijuana expenses to treat chronic pain resulting from work-related injuries sustained in 1994. ...