The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) recently co-authored a new report examining this trend along with officials from the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC), and the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). 

With public attitudes toward the use of cannabis consumption changing, 36 states and the District of Columbia have now approved laws that make cannabis available to consumers with qualifying medical conditions. The new report is the first to comprehensively look at how all 36 states that currently have medical marijuana laws on the books are handling reimbursement by workers’ compensation insurance.

The report, “Review of cannabis reimbursement by workers’ compensation in the U.S. and Canada” was recently published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine and was co-authored by:

• John Howard, MD, Director of NIOSH
• Steve Wurzelbacher, PHD, Division of Field Studies and Engineering, NIOSH
• Jamie Osbourne, MPH, CHES, Office of the Director, NIOSH
• Jennifer Wolf, Executive Director, IAIABC
• John Ruser, MA, PhD, President and CEO, WCRI
• Raji Chadarevian, Director of Medical Regulation and Informatics, NCCI

Read the blog post from NIOSH on the paper: NIOSH: WCI Coverage of Cannabis Costs for Work-related Health Conditions.

The full report can be accessed on the American Journal of Industrial Medicine: AJIM: Review of cannabis reimbursement by workers’ compensation insurance in the U.S. and Canada.

Return to Blog listing