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DPA's Office of Legal Affairs achieved a victory for Californiapatients this week after a protracted legal battle. As a result ofÂ*a court decision on September 25,indigent medical marijuana patients in California who receive publicassistance benefits through the Department of Health Services mayqualify for reimbursement of the cost of their medicine.
The case centered around Sylvia Price, who uses medical marijuana toalleviate severe, constant pain associated with lupus, a seizuredisorder, reflux sympathetic dystrophy, and osteoporosis.Â* Ms. Pricesought and received reimbursements for the cost of her medicalmarijuana under Lake County's public assistance program, which tookinto account Ms. Price's out-of-pocket expenditures for medicalmarijuana when determining what level of assistance she should receive.Â*
Then, three years ago, Lake County suddenly stopped reimbursing Ms.Price, claiming that federal law prohibited it from doing so.Â* DPA tookon her case, and after three administrative hearings and one appeal,the administrative court this week finally resolved the issue.
TheÂ*decision,written on behalf of the California Department of Health and HumanServices (DHS), made clear that DHS policy is to permit reimbursementof medical marijuana claims for patients who receive public assistanceÂ*from that agency. DHS's administrative court also made clear thatfederal marijuana laws do not prevent the state agency from honoringCalifornia's medical marijuana law and enforcing department policy.
The decision held, in relevant part: "The disparity between federallaw treating marijuana as a controlled and illegal substance andCaliforniaÂ’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and the Medical MarijuanaProgram Act has been decided and it is now established that DHS regardsmedical marijuana used consistent with the Compassionate Use Act of1996 and the Medical Marijuana Program Act as a bona fide medicalexpense."
This means that medical marijuana patients receiving publicassistance benefits through DHS may qualify for reimbursement ofreasonable, documented expenses incurred in obtaining theirphysician-recommended marijuana.
As for Ms. Price, she in all likelihood will be retroactivelyreimbursed for several thousand dollars of past out-of-pocket costs inpurchasing medical marijuana.
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