New Mexico Court Rules in Favor of Worker in Medical Marijuana Case

SANTA FE, NM — The New Mexico Court of Appeals has ruled that a patient in the state’s medical marijuana program who was injured on the job must be reimbursed by an employer for the expense of marijuana used for treatment.

The recent decision marks the third time since May 2014 that the court has sided with a medical marijuana patient in a workers’ compensation claim.

In the most recent case, appellate Judge James Wechsler wrote that a workers’ compensation judge was correct in ruling that American General Media, which owns several radio stations in New Mexico, had to reimburse Sandra Lewis of Albuquerque.

The company and its third-party workers’ compensation administrator had appealed the 2013 decision by the workers’ compensation judge. Among the arguments, the company said…