1. The First District Court of Appeal in Florida ruled that employers cannot be required to pay for an evaluation by a health care provider for a referral for medical marijuana.
2. The case involved an injured worker who requested to try medical marijuana to control pain related to a work-related accident in 2001.
3. The worker’s treating physician and an independent medical examiner both concluded that a referral for a medical marijuana evaluation was medically necessary and related to the workplace accident.
4. The judge of compensation claims (JCC) noted that medical marijuana could potentially reduce or eliminate long-term side effects of oral pain medication for the worker.
5. Despite the medical necessity, the JCC ruled that he was prohibited from granting the employee any relief due to Florida law. – Section 381.986(15)(f) Fla. Stat. states that marijuana is not reimbursable under Chapter 440.
– The JCC held that the statute relieves an employer or carrier of the obligation to pay for medical marijuana for an injured worker.
– The statute prohibits reimbursement for evaluations by a qualified physician to obtain the certification necessary for medical marijuana.
– Requiring the employer/carrier to pay for a worker’s use of marijuana would expose it to criminal liability under federal law.
– The Court of Appeal held that an evaluation by a physician for medical marijuana treatment would not be “medically necessary” because marijuana itself is neither reimbursable nor medically necessary.
– The employer must provide remedial treatment care and attendance that is medically necessary.
– An evaluation to simply determine whether the employee is the right patient for a medically unnecessary or non-compensable treatment by definition would not be medically necessary.
– The Court discussed federal law and the Controlled Substances Act in its decision.
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