INSURANCE COMPANIES, EMPLOYERS, DON'T HAVE TO PICK UP THE TAB FOR
MEDICAL MARIJUANA, COURT SAYS

GRAND RAPIDS - After a workplace injury, Thomas Todor found that
medical marijuana allowed him to reduce the amount of MS Contin, a
morphine sulfate, he needed for chronic pain.

It helped him sleep, too.

Todor, who suffered a severe shoulder injury, convinced a magistrate
he should be classified as totally disabled after an Oct. 31, 2005,
incident at Northland Farms LLC in West Olive.

At his Workers' Compensation trial, he also convinced the magistrate,
Jennifer Barnes, that his use of medical marijuana was reasonable and
necessary.

But Barnes recently said Todor's former employer and insurance
company, who have to pay for his medication, don't have to pay for his pot.

The reason? The state's medical marijuana law.

The voter-approved law prohibits insurance companies from being
responsible for costs associated with medical marijuana.

Employers breathed a sigh of relief with this ruling, but expect
future challenges on a wide range of issues, said attorney Thomas
Cypher, representing Northland Farms and Farm Bureau Insurance Co.

"This is the first case dealing with the issue of whether an employer
has to pay for medical marijuana for chronic, work-related pain," he
said Monday.

"If she ruled otherwise, we'd probably see an explosion of
chronic-pain claims."

Todor's attorney, Glenn Steeg, recognized a "conflict" in the law,
but said it was important to present evidence and get a ruling.

"(Barnes) says yes, it's reasonable and necessary, I would grant it
here" if not for the provision in the law that prohibits such payments.

The case presents yet another challenge under the medical marijuana
law, which has spawned controversy - and court action - since it took
effect in early 2009. The city of Wyoming has banned medical
marijuana, prompting a lawsuit, while other cities and townships
struggle to regulate growing operations.

In another workplace case, Joseph Casias, who has an inoperable brain
tumor, has filed a federal lawsuit in Grand Rapids after a Battle
Creek Walmart fired him when marijuana turned up during a drug test.
The American Civil Liberties Union says Casias, a legal user, is
forced to choose between his medication and job, while Walmart's
attorneys say it puts the company in a bad position but it, like many
others, has a policy against the use of illegal drugs.

Meanwhile, pro-medical marijuana groups have filed suit to prevent
federal drug agents from gaining access to records of seven people on
Michigan's medical marijuana registry. The federal government says it
is a narrow request for information in a Lansing-area drug investigation.

In Todor's case before the Workers' Compensation Board of
Magistrates, Barnes noted that a physician approved Todor's use of
marijuana for "chronic shoulder, low back pain with spasms."

Barnes said the law prohibits activities like driving under the
influence, and does not require an employer to accommodate a worker
using marijuana on the job. She said that use of marijuana would
likely prevent someone from obtaining a job.

"Northland Farms argues that Mr. Todor's use of medical marijuana is
not reasonable nor necessary care and treatment," Barnes wrote. "If a
medication, such as medical marijuana, is beneficial to a patient,
and is a State of Michigan-approved medication for the work-related
condition, I find it to be reasonable and necessary medical treatment."

"If the Legislature changes the law and makes the costs associated
with the medical use of marijuana to be reimbursable," ... it would
be reimbursable.

Cypher, the attorney for Northlands, said there are other similar
cases pending. If Northlands had to pay for marijuana, "there would
be no end to it. ... If you go down that route, how do you discipline
employees who flunk drug tests while others (use it as medication)?
It's a Pandora's Box. We anticipate more cases dealing with this."

Steeg, the attorney for Todor, advised his client not to comment to The Press.

The case can be appealed to the appellate commission, state Court of
Appeals and Supreme Court.