Maine Says: Buy Your Own Marijuana

Maine has just joined the list of states that preclude worker’s compensation coverage for the cost of medical marijuana used to treat a workplace injury. Bourgoin sustained a workplace injury that caused him to suffer chronic back pain and total disability. After receiving a certification to use medical marijuana, he obtained an order from the Worker’s Compensation Board directing Twin Rivers, his former employer, to pay for the cost of the marijuana. He found that marijuana was more effective and had fewer side effects than the opioid drugs he had been prescribed. Twin Rivers appealed, arguing that the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) prevented an employer from paying for marijuana even when it is legal under state law.

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