{"id":7527,"date":"2017-06-30T02:03:26","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T02:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com?p=2701049&amp;preview_id=2701049"},"modified":"2017-06-30T02:03:26","modified_gmt":"2017-06-30T02:03:26","slug":"workers-comp-insurance-firm-drops-all-7-of-hawaiis-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-over-fear-of-feds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/workers-comp-insurance-firm-drops-all-7-of-hawaiis-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-over-fear-of-feds\/","title":{"rendered":"Workers\u2019 comp insurance firm drops all 7 of Hawaii\u2019s medical marijuana dispensaries over fear of feds"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/workers-comp-insurance-firm-drops-all-7-of-hawaiis-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-over-fear-of-feds\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"large-10 large-centered small-12 columns\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta-date\">Published: Jun 29, 2017, 12:13 pm \u2022 Updated: Jun 29, 2017, 12:21 pm<span class=\"single-comments-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/06\/29\/hawaii-medical-marijuana-workers-comp-insurer\/82706\/#disqus_thread\" class=\"commentsNameLink\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <span class=\"author\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/ap\/\" rel=\"author\">The Associated Press<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>HONOLULU \u2014 Hawaii\u2019s largest workers\u2019 compensation insurer is canceling insurance policies for seven medical marijuana dispensaries preparing to open this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Hawaii Employers\u2019 Mutual Insurance Co., citing concerns over criminal liability since the drug is considered illegal by the federal government, notified the affected dispensaries Wednesday its policies will be canceled in 30 days and that premiums would be refunded.<\/p>\n<p>The company said its board of directors unanimously agreed to the decision after two independent legal opinions determined it would have \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/04\/21\/jeff-sessions-marijuana-legalization-impact\/77938\/\">potential exposure for criminal liability<\/a>\u201d based on federal law.<\/p>\n<p>HEMIC officials declined to identify the seven companies or how much they will be refunded. HEMIC does not cover Hawaii\u2019s eighth marijuana dispensary, the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2un0y6v\">Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The move could delay the opening of Hawaii\u2019s first dispensaries unless the companies can find an insurer willing to offer workers\u2019 compensation policies. Hawaii law requires companies to provide workers\u2019 compensation insurance that covers medical expenses and loss income for employees who are injured on the job. It also protects businesses from lawsuits by injured workers due to workplace conditions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not providing an opinion or moral judgment on someone\u2019s use of marijuana or not, and we\u2019re certainly not taking a position opposed to the value of medicinal marijuana to treat certain medical conditions or chronic pain,\u201d HEMIC Chief Executive Officer Marty Welch told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Wednesday. \u201cThis was really simply a legal decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The board had to ensure the company, its employees, its balance sheet and its 6,500 customers were protected, Welch added.<\/p>\n<p>HEMIC accepted workers\u2019 compensation insurance applications starting in 2016 after <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2016\/07\/05\/hawaii-marijuana-dispensaries-to-open\/57534\/\">the state\u2019s first medical marijuana licenses were issued to eight dispensaries<\/a>, but said under state law, it can decline to insure \u201cbusinesses engaged in illegal activities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>HEMIC, a private mutual insurance company whose directors are elected by its policyholders, said it has a \u201cfiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the company, its stakeholders and its 6,500-plus policyholders.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hawaii&#8217;s largest workers&#8217; compensation insurer is canceling insurance policies for seven medical marijuana dispensaries over fears of federal prosecution. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1335,7181,6813,77,5667,56,9,6833,5019,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[3905,7182,6818,2655,5673,2636,6835,5022],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7527"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7527\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}