A federal judge has dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit that aimed to require insurers in New Mexico to cover medical cannabis as a behavioral health treatment.
The complaint was originally filed in June 2022. On April 23, U.S. District Judge Martha Vazquez granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss, ruling that New Mexico state law does not mandate insurance coverage for medical marijuana and that federal law would overrule any such requirement.
The lawsuit was filed by a medical cannabis dispensary and six patients who argued that insurers were violating state law by refusing to cover medical cannabis for behavioral health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder and autism. The plaintiffs claimed that insurers, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, Presbyterian Health Plan, and Centene’s Western Sky Community Care, were obligated to cover medical cannabis as a medically necessary treatment.
The judge ruled that state law only prohibits cost-sharing for behavioral health services that insurers already cover, not services they exclude. Additionally, she noted that New Mexico’s minimum coverage requirements under the ACA does not include medical cannabis. Insurers offering coverage could also face liability for aiding and abetting federal drug crimes since cannabis remains a Schedule I drug.
In 2025, New Mexico lawmakers introduced legislation that would require insurance coverage for medical cannabis to treat certain debilitating medical conditions.
