Aurora Cannabis Inc. is showing its commitment to medical marijuana in a big way. Along with making medical cannabis available to markets and customers throughout the world, the company is now making it easier for its own employees to access. As the cannabis company offers employees medical marijuana coverage, more and more companies in Canada are beginning to follow suit.
Aurora’s Employees Can Now Get Medical Marijuana
Yesterday, Aurora announced a new benefits package for its employees. And the most important change had to do with medical marijuana.
Now, employees of Aurora Cannabis Inc. will have medical marijuana covered by their health insurance. As reported by local Canadian news sources, the new insurance plan will be operated by Sun Life Financial.
Starting in March, Sun Life began making medical marijuana an option for its insurance plans. As a result, when employers put together benefits packages for employees, they can choose to include medical marijuana coverage.
Under the terms of coverage, Sun Life will cover medical marijuana for certain health conditions. This reportedly includes symptoms linked to some forms of cancer, arthritis, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and a few other conditions.
With medical marijuana coverage now on the table, Aurora Cannabis apparently took advantage of the new option. Now, all Aurora employees will have medical marijuana insurance coverage, as long as they have one of the qualifying health conditions.
Cannabis Company Offers Employees Medical Marijuana Coverage
Aurora’s decision to add medical marijuana coverage to its benefits plan is especially fitting. That’s because Aurora is poised to become one of the biggest providers of medical marijuana in the world.
Back in May, Aurora was part of a huge deal. The company acquired MedReleaf Corporation, one of Canada’s largest marijuana companies. That acquisition came on the heels of other high profile acquisitions.
Along with acquisitions, Aurora has been making moves to land distribution deals in other countries. For example, at the beginning of the year, the company won a contract to supply medical marijuana to the government of Italy.
That deal came as a result of shortages in Italy. As demand for medical marijuana has skyrocketed in Italy, the country has failed to produce enough product on its own. Italy eventually chose to enter a partnership with Aurora. As a result, Aurora will now ship medical marijuana to Italy.
As a result of all these moves, Aurora has solidified its spot as one of Canada’s biggest cannabis companies. Given its role as a provider of medical marijuana to patients around the world, it is only fitting that it offers medical marijuana benefits to its employees in its home country.
It is becoming increasingly popular for companies in Canada to give employees medical marijuana insurance coverage. Private companies like food retailer Loblaw and the Arthritis Society have reportedly offered medical marijuana coverage to employees.
More broadly, this trend is part of larger and ongoing cannabis-related changes in Canada. At the top of the list is the legalization of recreational weed. After a number of delays, Canada is scheduled for full national legalization later this fall.
