Widow penalized for late husband’s legal marijuana use

DENVER – The state of Colorado is denying half the workers’ compensation death benefits to a woman whose husband died while working on a ski lift because he had marijuana in his system.

KMGH-TV reports Erika Lee’s husband, Adam Lee, was crushed to death in December underneath a ski escalator in Loveland.

Erika says she’s frustrated the system is saying “because he smoked a legal substance, we are going to take away your benefits from you and your kids,”

Colorado law allows state workers’ compensation companies to cut benefits by 50 per cent if tests return positive for marijuana or any other controlled substance.

Erika plans to appeal the decision by Pinnacol Assurance, a quasi-state workers’ compensation agency, to cut her benefits. A hearing is scheduled before an administrative law judge in the coming months.

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Information from: KMGH-TV, http://www.thedenverchannel.com