Members of the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission have approved additional regulations limiting patients’ ability to access medical cannabis products. The passage of the new rules, which await final approval from Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, mark the latest effort by regulators to undermine the state’s 2024 voter-approved medical cannabis access law, which Nebraskans supported by a margin of more than 2 to 1.
Previous rules approved by the Commission in July repeal patients’ access to botanical cannabis, limit the total number of state-licensed dispensaries to no more than twelve, and require physicians to specify which cannabis formulation, potency, and dose is appropriate for each individual patient. On Tuesday, commissioners approved additional regulations limiting the total number of state-licensed cultivators to no more than four and requiring doctors to undergo ten hours of medical education training prior to discussing medical cannabis therapy with their patients, among other changes.
Crista Eggers, Executive Director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, the advocacy group that led the successful 2024 ballot effort, criticized the Commission’s decisions.
“By approving rules that pile on new barriers and unlawfully restrict forms of cannabis, they are dismantling what the people demanded at the ballot box,” Eggers said in a statement. “This is a direct assault on patients, families and the democratic process itself. Nebraskans voted for access to medicine. Instead, the commission delivered defiance, obstruction and betrayal.”
In public testimony provided to the Commission, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano similarly described regulators’ actions as “a slap in the face to Nebraska voters.”
The Commission is required to begin licensing medical cannabis establishments by October 1, 2025. However, state Attorney General Mike Hilgers has threatened to sue regulators if they move forward with licensing. “The sale of marijuana — medicinal or otherwise — is not lawful, and therefore, is unconstitutional,” Hilgers opined in April. “So as the attorney general, my job is to enforce the Constitution.”
NORML’s Deputy Director said that elected officials in Republican-led states have become increasingly hostile to voter-approved laws, despite their bipartisan public support. Lawmakers in Mississippi and South Dakota successfully sued to nullify election results in those states legalizing cannabis. In Texas, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued several cities in order to overturn voter-initiated marijuana depenalization laws. In Ohio, GOP leadership are considering a pair of bills to significantly roll back the state’s voter-approved adult-use legalization law.
“In a healthy democracy, those with competing visions on public policy vie for voters’ support and abide by their voting decisions. However, it is becoming clear that those who oppose marijuana policy reform would rather take voters out of the equation altogether,” Armentano said. “Whether or not one personally supports or opposes cannabis legalization, these undemocratic tactics ought to cause of deep concern.”
Additional information is available from Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana. A summary of the Commission’s August 4th meeting is available from the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission.
