Cannabis Legalization and the Insurance Industry

Summary

This practice note discusses the impact of cannabis legalization on the insurance industry. Disparate state laws on both medical and recreational use, federal issues such as classification/scheduling of cannabis and the evolving nature of federal enforcement of drug laws, and the conflicting interplay between state and federal cannabis laws are discussed as well as the coverage requirements for the cannabis industry's legitimate and complex business needs and insurance-specific concerns raised by developments such as increased accident frequency and coverage mandates. Workers' compensation insurance, such as coverage for medical cannabis in work-related injury and illness claims, treatment concerns, and cannabis in the workplace are included with a review of drug testing and impairment issues in the workplace and elsewhere and the wide-ranging impact that barriers to research continue to have on the cannabis industry's nascent insurance protections.