Unlike some other forms of bodily injury insurance, workers’ compensation insurance is no-fault. This means that an injured worker’s claim cannot be denied even if the incident that caused the injury was caused by the employee’s own unintentional negligence. There are some exceptions to that rule, however. For example, if an employee was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the incident, the employer does have the standing to deny the claim.
But what happens if the employee has a medical marijuana card under California’s Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) and has been prescribed cannabis by their doctor to alleviate symptoms of a medical condition? Can a workers’ compensation claim be denied because of the employee’s use of medical marijuana?
California’s Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act
Under MAUCRSA, there are a variety of medical conditions that have been approved for medical cannabis use, including AIDS, cancer, arthritis, glaucoma, chronic pain, and seizures. A doctor needs to make a recommendation for cannabis use and specify the condition being treated in order for the person to apply to the state and obtain a medical marijuana card. But this type of recommendation is different from many other types of medical prescriptions because marijuana–even for medical use–is still illegal at the federal level.
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