Summary
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied Luis Peña Garcia’s petition for review of a Benefits Review Board decision denying reimbursement for doctor-recommended medical cannabis under Section 7 of the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, as extended by the Defense Base Act. The court held that marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act precludes treating it as a reasonable and necessary reimbursable medical expense under federal law. The court rejected arguments based on state medical-marijuana laws, federal appropriations riders, executive actions, and congressional marijuana-research legislation.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether medical cannabis-infused edibles may qualify as a reasonable and necessary reimbursable medical treatment under Section 7 of the LHWCA when marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act.
- Whether federal appropriations riders concerning state medical-marijuana laws, presidential marijuana-related actions, federal medical-marijuana research legislation, or more permissive state workers’ compensation policies alter the federal treatment of marijuana under the CSA.
- Whether the CSA's criminal prohibition on aiding and abetting distribution affects the reimbursement question under the LHWCA.
Holdings
- Because marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance under the CSA, federal law treats it as having no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; therefore, marijuana cannot constitute reimbursable reasonable and necessary medical treatment under Section 7 of the LHWCA.
- Appropriations riders restricting the Department of Justice from interfering with state medical-marijuana laws constrain enforcement discretion but do not repeal or alter the CSA's classification of marijuana and do not establish marijuana as a reimbursable medical expense under the LHWCA.
- State laws and policies permitting or reimbursing medical marijuana do not constrain the application of the CSA to a federal LHWCA claim; conflicting federal restrictions prevail.
Key quotations
“Federal law thus categorically bars marijuana from being deemed a reasonable and necessary medical expense for purposes of the LHWCA.” (7)
“All that matters is marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I substance under the CSA, which unequivocally provides, for purposes of federal law, that it has no accepted medical use.” (10)
“This Court is obliged to apply the law as it currently stands.” (10)
Factual background
Peña Garcia suffered work-related injuries to his neck, back, and extremities in May 1994, resulting in permanent total disability. The Department of Labor found that his former employer and insurance carrier had to provide medical care under Section 7 of the LHWCA, as extended by the Defense Base Act. In 2019, a Puerto Rico-licensed physician recommended cannabis-infused edibles for Peña's chronic pain, but the carrier denied reimbursement. The Department of Labor proceedings concluded that marijuana's Schedule I classification under federal law made it unavailable as a reasonable and necessary reimbursable medical treatment.
Procedural history
The Department of Labor determined that Peña's former employer and its insurance carrier were responsible for providing him with medical care for his work-related injuries. After the carrier denied reimbursement for physician-recommended medical cannabis-infused edibles, an Administrative Law Judge ruled that marijuana's Schedule I classification under the Controlled Substances Act precluded reimbursement under the LHWCA. The Benefits Review Board affirmed by a 2-1 vote. Peña petitioned for review, initially in the First Circuit; the First Circuit transferred the petition to the Second Circuit because the relevant DOL office was located within the Second Circuit.