Medical marijuana use continues to be a topic of debate in the workers’ compensation space, with states reviewing its legality and industry professionals trying to better understand its utility as a treatment. Recently, myMatrixx Chief Clinical Officer, Phil Walls, was quoted in an article for Risk & Insurance Magazine covering this subject. In the wide-ranging piece covering multiple viewpoints, Walls stresses that myMatrixx is taking a cautious approach to utilizing marijuana as a clinical treatment for injured workers.
Per Walls, myMatrixx is closely following official disability guidelines set by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), meaning that medical marijuana reimbursement is discouraged unless payment is ordered by a judge. He further explains that while there has been some anecdotal success for marijuana as a substitute for opioids in pain relief, more research is needed to make a truly ethical determination.