(AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CN) — Two workers’ compensation insurers took on Minnesota’s medical marijuana program Monday at the state’s high court, arguing that continued federal prohibition of cannabis forbids them from paying for injured workers’ use of the drug for pain relief.
The Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral arguments early Monday in the cases of Susan Musta and Daniel Bierbach, two Minnesotans who sought to use medical marijuana to treat pain and disability from work-related injuries. Attorneys for their respective employers’ workers-compensation providers argued that coverage of medical marijuana would put insurers at risk of aiding and abetting a federal crime.