Meeting Write-Up: January 17th Breakfast Meeting at Union League

Fri, 02/08/2019 - 17:18
by Mike Povich

On a going forward basis for our meetings in 2019, we will be providing post summary write-ups for all of our chapter meetings, in which we present a relevant insurance topic to our member audience. Also, as part of our partership with our Philadelphia universities that support Risk Management & Insurance programs, we will have a university student volunteer submit their summary meeting write-up, which we will post on our chapter website, along with a copy of the presentation materials (if we are able to obtain from our guest speakers). This year, we are happy to have Lauren Morell, a junior from La Salle University, who will be handling our post meeting summary write-ups. Lauren is an aspiring actuary, and we welcome Lauren to enjoy the benefit of attending our chapter meetings, where she can network with our members who are local insurance professionals, as well as learn about current/relevant insurance topics we discuss at our meetings.

Meeting Topic:   Legalized Marijuana, Workers' Compensation and The Workplace

Download the Presentation Slides HERE

"Thursday's CPCU Society meeting opened with continental breakfast and networking followed by a brief industry update from Paul Griffing, the new CPCU Society Philadelphia Chapter President. He welcomed new designees of 2019 and then introduced John Kutner, Partner at Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP, who discussed the impact of marijuana legalization in his presentation titled Legalized Marijuana, Workers' Compensation and The Workplace. John discussed the states with medical and recreational marijuana laws, indicating that New York and New Jersey are the next potential states to legalize this substance. He also discussed the workplace issues regarding these laws, starting with the conflict that marijuana stays in your system even if you are not high on the job. There is currently no technology, such as a THC breathalyzer, that is able to identify that a person is currently high, and there are various lawsuits arising as more issues surface. Furthermore, John shared both sides of the argument regarding if marijuana is a gateway drug. He does not believe that opiate use is derived from marijuana use, but it is argued that the two could be linked. Overall, there is no clear answer as to how soon New York and New Jersey will legalize marijuana, but time will tell how these laws impact workers' compensation."

- Lauren Morell, Junior at La Salle University


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