The Cannabis Conundrum: How Federal Policy Hampers Workers’ Comp’s Reimbursement for Medical Use

Ask the regulating bodies of all 50 states and several territories of the United States about medical cannabis and you’re likely to receive as many answers about what should be done.

As jurisprudence piles up and regulatory bodies use different methods to govern reimbursement requests, adjusters, pharmacy benefit managers and injured workers are left confused. For experts in the space, all of this boils down to the lack of federal action on the issue.

‘Part of the problem is that when you have this conflict between state and federal law, it’s hard to get clear policy; you’re trying to circumvent something that needs to be either enforced or fixed,’ said Brian Allen, VP of government affairs at Mitchell’s Pharmacy Solutions division. ‘And if they’re not going to enforce it, they should just fix it. Every time there’s an administration change, you get a new attorney general at the U.S. level, and there’s a different interpretation.’