A new study on marijuana legalization’s effect on workers’ compensation finds that while the policy change is associated with a “gradual increase” in workers’ comp claims, the average cost per claim in fact fell after the policy change—as did patient use of prescription drugs, especially opioids and other painkillers.
Workers Compensation Research Institute’s (WCRI) report tracks the effects that legalizing marijuana for adults has both on work injuries and workers’ compensation costs.
On the one hand, the study states that the adoption of recreational marijuana laws led to an increase in workers compensation claims.
Over a period between 1.7 and 1.8 years, on average, workers compensation claims increased 7.7 percent in the states. In five years that number had increased to 15%.
On the contrary, it says that the “average medical payment per claim” decreased following the implementation of RMLs. This was partly driven by a decrease in prescription costs and usage. The report states that the legalization of adult-use cannabis “reduced medical claims per claim to $207 or 5.7 percent at maturity.”
Part of the cost reductions were due to a 13,9% decrease in prescriptions. This included a 11,7% drop in the number of prescriptions for pain medication per claim. Authors added that the proportion of opioid prescriptions in claims dropped by 9.7 percent. The authors also noted a decline in the prescription of sleep aids.
A new 51-page study analyzed workers’ compensation claims made between October 2012 through March 2022.
This report identifies four main findings.
After RML implementation, “(1) claim frequency increased, (2) medical payments per claim declined, (3) number of prescriptions for pain medications, including opioids prescriptions declined, and (4) indemnity benefits or total claim duration did not change, except in the years following RML’s adoption.”
WCRI said in a press release that the findings “can inform debates on issues such as marijuana rescheduling, occupational treatment guidelines, state THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) regulations, or marijuana taxes.”
Ramona Tanabe is the president and CEO at The Institute. She said, “this research is crucial as marijuana consumption continues to grow.” The study highlights RMLs complex effect on the risk of work injuries and costs associated with workers’ comp claims. It is important for all stakeholders, including policymakers and insurance companies, as well as medical providers, employers, labor activists, and other workers’ advocates to understand these challenges.
The report suggests that the increase in workers’ compensation claims in states with legalized marijuana is due to “intoxication at work or withdrawal symptoms caused by recreational marijuana use.”
Cannabis may have also reduced the cost of these claims.
The report states that the decrease in costs for each claim after legalization was likely due to lower payments per claim for prescriptions for pain medications. This finding is consistent with prior research that has shown that marijuana could be used as a treatment for pain among non-workers compensation populations.
In addition, RMLs resulted in a shorter duration of disability. This, along with the reduced amount paid for medical care, results in a small decrease in overall claim costs. “The long-term impact on [temporary disability] RMLs may contribute to the faster recovery of injured workers’ abilities, since fewer will end up taking chronic opioids.”
The new report offers policy recommendations in addition to examining the costs and frequency of claims for workers’ compensation. The report suggests, as an example, that THC levels be capped “to limit the potency of products and reduce intoxication effects or hangovers which could lead to injuries.”
The report also recommends increasing the tax on marijuana “to reduce its use”, expanding programs for employee assistance and education, adding additional infrastructure in order to avoid injuries, and even tightening up workplace policies against drug abuse and testing.
Our findings give us new insights on the effects of legalizing recreational marijuana on the worker’s compensation system,” concludes the report. The report concludes that, given the current policy trend and high levels of support among Americans for the legalization of cannabis (nearly 70% of Americans in 2023 favored legalization), the use of marijuana and its legalization are likely to increase over time. As the marijuana policy environment continues to change, future research on this subject may be required.
The National Bureau of Economic Research conducted a study in 2021 that found legalizing cannabis for adult use was related to increased productivity in the workplace and decreased injuries.
These researchers examined the impact of cannabis legalization for recreational purposes on the workers’ compensation claim filings of older adults. In states where the change in policy has been implemented, they observed declines both in terms of “propensity to get benefits as well as benefit amounts”.
Further, they identified “complementary reductions in rates of workplace injuries that are not traumatic and work-limiting disabilities in all states.”
We provide evidence to support the claim that these reductions are primarily due to the actions of individuals. [in workers’ compensation] The National Institute on Drug Abuse funded the study that found that there was an increase in the ability to work due to the addition of a pain management treatment.
In 2020, another study found that the legalization of medical marijuana resulted in fewer workers’ compensation cases. The University of Cincinnati Ash Blue College, Temple University and researchers concluded that allowing medical marijuana “can help workers better manage the symptoms of workplace illnesses and injuries, and reduce their need for compensation.” [workers’ compensation].”
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider two workers’ compensation cases involving medical marijuana in 2022.
In 2023, another study on the use of marijuana by employees found that the workers were just as likely to suffer workplace accidents when they used cannabis outside the office. People who indulged in marijuana were more likely to suffer workplace injuries than those who did not use the drug at all. You can also read about our other services. Nearly twice as many workers are involved in workplace incidents than non-users or off-duty users.
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in an analysis of data from five years of federal surveys on health conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that workers employed in the hospitality and food services industries are among the U.S. employees who consume marijuana most frequently.
Workers in the construction industry and in extraction also had high cannabis usage rates in the past month. Law enforcement officers, healthcare providers, and library and education workers were the least likely to admit marijuana use.
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