Medical Marijuana to Treat Disability Substantiates a Claim

The law on marijuana use is rapidly changing nationwide. To date, 23 states have legalized some medicinal use of marijuana, with legislation pending in three additional states. Most notably, 2012 ballot initiatives in Colorado and Oregon legalized recreational marijuana use. Further, additional jurisdictions have decriminalized marijuana, and some prosecutors, such as the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, no longer pursue low-level possession charges. This quickly evolving area of law will impact not only our criminal justice system, but also disability benefits claims. As legalized medicinal use of marijuana becomes more common, employers and their workers will face tough questions. Employers are understandably unlikely to allow a worker under the influence of marijuana to work. However, if an employee has not been able to find relief for their disabling conditions through any other means, should they be allowed to work if it is controlled through marijuana use? And if they work in a particularly sensitive occupation where driving or the operation of heavy machinery is necessary, is an employee’s use of marijuana to control their symptoms disabling? Unfortunately, there are no documented cases of medicinal marijuana use and disability, but we do expect to see some in the near future as access to the drug increases. However, other cases dealing with medicinal use of controlled substances and disability are instructive of how medicinal marijuana use may be disabling.

Certain jobs come with zero-tolerance for the use of even prescribed controlled substances. The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine has published a lengthy and non-exhaustive list of prohibited medications, and Aviation Medical Examiners have been instructed to refuse issuance of an FAA medical certification to any person who use any drug on this list. In