Facts
In 2001, Vincent Hager was injured when a delivery truck dumped its load of on concrete on him. The immediate effects of the injury were “shooting and stabbing pain,” which led to diagnoses of disc herniation, stenosis and disc bulging. Over the next 15 years, Hager underwent multiple surgeries, physical therapy, and was prescribed various forms of pain management medication therapies, including Oxycontin, Oxycodone, Valium, and Lyrica. Seeking an alternative to opioids for pain management, Hager was finally referred to and accepted to the New Jersey Medical Marijuana program.
During trial before the workers’ compensation judge, Hager detailed his suffering, including chronic pain that radiated throughout his legs and lower back. He also testified that his pain impacted his daily activities, including the inability to stand for more than 30 minutes. Moreover, the pain prevented him from working. He explained that while the pain was not fully abated, use of medical marijuana “took the edge off the pain,” relaxed muscles when they spasmed, allowed him to stop use of Oxycodone and allowed him to sleep.
The workers’ compensation judge ordered his former employer to pay for his medical marijuana and related costs. M&K appealed the ruling, claiming that the workers’ compensation judges’ order was unenforceable because: 1) compliance with the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act and the federal Controlled Substances Act is impossible; 2) compliance with the order requires M&K to “aid and abet” Hager’s possession of a controlled substance; 3) M&K should be treated “like a private insurer, which is not required...to cover the costs of medical marijuana; and 4) the judge failed to consider whether medical marijuana is a “reasonable and necessary” treatment for the purposes of workers’ compensation law.