A Windsor area labourer's union is the first in North America to cover medical marijuana under its benefits plan.
LiUNA 625 has 3600 members in their plan and as of June 15th, they'll be able to apply for reimbursement of the purchase of any cannabis product their doctor has prescribed.
Local Business Manager Rob Petroni says the members who are on the job are eligible for lower dose cannabis, retirees and others can be reimbursed for any cannabis product.
Petroni says the main goal of this move is to reduce opioid abuse because they believe cannabis oil is healthier than opioids.
He says while addressing the opioid crisis is the goal, it may also be economically beneficial: "We've got plan members that are spending $50-60,000 on IBS drugs alone and a year's worth of cannabis oil is about $2400 so it may save the plan money"
Petroni says they'll be tracking how effective this move has been, monitoring both opioid use and other drugs as well as the cost factors to the plan.
He says they spent about 2 years in talks with a variety of experts and with the carrier, Greenshield, to be able to offer this coverage.
Petroni believes other LiUNA locals, trade unions and businesses are watching to see how this works out.