The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in favor of a truck driver who sued companies that produced THC and CBD cannabis after he tested positive in a drug test and lost his job.

The 5-4 ruling held that an individual can seek damages for business or property loss resulting from a personal injury under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored the ruling for the majority, saying “injury” is the “invasion of a legal right” and that “Medical Marijuana offers next to nothing about how courts should assess whether the plaintiff has suffered such an invasion.”

She added, “The phrase ’injured in his business or property’ does not preclude recovery for all economic harms that result from personal injuries.”

She was joined by Justices Neil M. Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Brett M. Kavanaugh disagreed with the majority’s decision.

Justice Thomas in his dissent said the case was improperly briefed and should be dismissed, noting that the dispute failed to address how to define a civil RICO injury.

“In this case, the parties vigorously contest whether Horn suffered a personal injury at all,” he wrote.

Justice Kavanaugh, in his dissent that the chief justice and Justice Alito joined, said RICO was intended for business-related injuries an individual suffers and that other tort-related cases were for personal injuries.

“A plaintiff cannot circumvent RICO’s categorical exclusion of personal-injury suits simply by alleging that a personal injury resulted in losses of business or property, thereby converting otherwise excluded personal-injury suits into business- or property-injury suits,” he wrote.

The legal battle began when Douglas Horn and his wife sued Red Dice Holdings LLC, Medical Marijuana Inc. and Dixie Holdings LLC, which helped produce Dixie X, a hemp-based CBD, or cannabidiol, supplement, after he was selected for a drug test as an employee for a commercial truck driving business and tested positive.

Mr. Horn had been a commercial trucker for 14 years before he lost his job over the positive test.

He had used the hemp product due to suffering from inflammation and pain stemming from a car accident after being unsatisfied with prescription medication.

Mr. Horn said the Dixie X advertisement said it yielded 0% THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, and was compliant with federal guidelines. In court records, he said he has never used marijuana.

Most of his charges against the companies — like breach of warranty and unlawful business practice claims — were dismissed in lower courts, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that his civil liability charge under the RICO Act for lost wages could proceed.

The companies took the challenge to the Supreme Court, arguing only the 2nd and 9th Circuits have allowed RICO to apply to personal injury claims stemming from lost wages, but the 6th, 7th and 11th Circuits haven’t.

The issue is over personal injury claims, which the companies say most courts have limited RICO to apply to only economic or business damages — not those stemming from personal injuries, like Mr. Horn’s personal use of a THC product.

But the high court’s ruling on Wednesday says personal injury can result in damages under the law, affirming the 2nd Circuit’s decision.

The case was Medical Marijuana v. Horn.

• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.