This past Friday, IRIS Fire Investigations held a “Hash Oil Hazards Training for the Insurance Industry” seminar. The seminar focused primarily on the ways that making hash oil at home (typically using butane) can go terribly wrong, and what investigators at a suspicious fire should look for. But there was also an interesting discussion involving personal property, standard homeowner insurance coverage and cannabis plants.
The central issue revolves around the Supremacy Clause, which essentially states that the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes and treaties are “the supreme law of the land.” This clause has been brought up before when analyzing cannabis law because the plant remains illegal under federal law.
Practically speaking, the Supremacy Clause hasn’t affected too many cannabis consumers in Colorado — yet. But homeowners who grow their own cannabis plants, which they’re legally allowed to do in Colorado, might find themselves fighting against this clause if they lose their plants in an event that’s ordinarily covered by homeowners’ insurance and they file a claim to recover their losses.
More at the Denver Westword.
