“You Can’t Get There From Here”: Maine Supreme Court Says Compelling Medical Marijuana Coverage Conflicts with Federal Law

Recently, the Maine Supreme Court issued a decision that surprised workers’ compensation professionals across the country. In Bourgoin v. Twin Rivers, 2018 ME 77, 2018 WL 2976309 (June 14, 2018), the court decided that a workers’ compensation carrier cannot be compelled to subsidize a claimant’s medicinal marijuana treatment. In that case, the claimant received a certification under the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Act (MMUMA) for the use of medicinal marijuana to treat work-related injuries. The court determined that requiring the carrier to subsidize …

Continue Reading