Vincent Hager

Facts

In a case of first impression, the New Jersey Appellate Division held in January 2020 that an employee’s costs to use medical marijuana to treat chronic pain resulting from a work place injury is reimbursable by his employer.

The employer argued that the workers’ compensation order to reimburse Hager for his medical marijuana violated the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”)[1], which criminalizes the possession, manufacture, or distribution of marijuana and therefore preempts New Jersey’s Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act (“Jake Honig Act”).[2] The employer further argued that the order required it to aid and abet the employee’s illegal use and possession of marijuana in violation of the CSA.

In a case of first impression, the New Jersey Appellate Division determined that employers in the state must reimburse employees for medical cannabis following a workplace accident, despite federal prohibitions against cannabis distribution. The January 13, 2020 decision in Hager v. M&K Construction, Case No.

They further argued that the plaintiff’s use of medical cannabis to treat his chronic pain arising from a work-related injury was both “reasonable and necessary.”

The New Hampshire Supreme Court issued a similar ruling last year, as have lower courts in several other states, including Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, and New Mexico.