At the federal level, at least, there's no confusion over medical marijuana and whether it's covered by workers' compensation insurance.

Marijuana possession is still considered illegal by the U.S. Justice Department, so "federal workers' comp is clearly not paying for any medical marijuana, period. (But) it's a trickier issue on the state level," said Trey Gillespie, the senior workers' compensation director for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

Indeed, it is. That's why Gillespie said PCI is closely watching the issue, "because it creates somewhat of a conundrum for employers. On one hand, they want safe workplaces. On the other hand, they don't want to infringe on employee rights."

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