Marijuana Moment: Nebraska Officials Approve Medical Marijuana Rules, Sending Them To Attorney General And Governor

[Tokeativity]

“There is a standard process for review of regulations which will be followed.”

By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner

The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission unanimously signed off on formal regulations over the budding supply chain Monday, nearly a year after issuing the first regulations.

Guidelines have ebbed through temporary 90-day periods since just before July 1. The rules have been extended multiple times and largely define restrictions on medical cannabis establishments, including licenses that can be issued, security requirements, types of products that can be sold to patients and which doctors can recommend the medicine.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) has a legal duty to review the formal regulations for legal and constitutional compliance. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) then has the final say.

Hilgers has been openly critical of the voter-approved laws and some bills in the Legislature. He and Pillen questioned the legality when the laws took effect December 12, 2024, following overwhelming voter approval the month before—71 percent for legalization, 67 percent for regulations.

“Both the governor and the attorney general believe that serious issues remain regarding the validity of these [ballot measure] petitions under federal law and the Nebraska Constitution,” Pillen and Hilgers said at the time. “The federal government has designated marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance. Under federal law, it is unlawful to either possess or sell Schedule I controlled substances.”

Nebraska also finds itself in a precarious, one-of-a-kind situation: it has no congressional protections for a state medical cannabis program from federal interference. It’s unclear why Nebraska was left off the latest update in January. Today, 47 states are protected.

‘Standard process for review’

Pillen, at times, has tried to strike a different tone than Hilgers, offering administrative support and setting aside more than $2 million in the latest round of state budget adjustments for the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, which houses the Medical Cannabis Commission, as decided by voters. The state’s three liquor commissioners serve on both commissions.

The governor also signed off on the temporary regulations just before the voter-imposed July 1 deadline. He supports access to the medicine in part to prevent recreational marijuana.

This time, Pillen’s signature on the regulations would give a more permanent force of law.

Asked for comment Monday, Hilgers spokesperson Suzanne Gage said: “There is a standard process for review of regulations which will be followed.”

Gage did not respond to a follow-up question about whether Hilgers’s questioning about the constitutionality and validity of the 2024 laws would impact his review.

President Donald Trump has sought to expedite a move started under President Joe Biden to federally downgrade marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug. Schedule I drugs, such as heroin, LSD, ecstasy and peyote, are drugs the federal government has classified with a high likelihood of abuse and no currently accepted medical value.

Schedule III drugs are defined as those with moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence, such as Tylenol with codeine, ketamine and testosterone.

Hilgers and Pillen have spoken against the rescheduling effort. Trump has endorsed both for reelection this year.

Legal protections for providers

At Monday’s commission meeting, some advocates told the four commissioners they question whether the program will be functional after the derailing of legislation last week that would have given legal protection to health care providers who recommend medical cannabis.

Under current law, Nebraskans with a health care practitioner’s recommendation can legally possess up to 5 ounces of medical cannabis. The recommendation does not have to come from an in-state doctor.

The commission has decided to restrict access to commission-licensed dispensaries—the only route for legal sales in the Cornhusker State—to patients with in-state recommendations.

Since the laws took effect, advocates and lawmakers say no Nebraska physicians have issued recommendations, in part due to fear of retaliation, including from Hilgers. Some patients have turned to other states for recommendations or to buy the medicine in the meantime.

Bill Hawkins of the Nebraska Hemp Company said the defeat of the 2026 bill might mean no in-state doctors sign up through the commission, making access to commission-licensed dispensaries impossible. Physicians would also need to complete annual education to qualify.

Commissioners, responding to public comments on the regulations, said they want to limit it to Nebraska providers, “but might consider a waiver process in the future.”

Last year, Hilgers spoke against such protections in a larger regulatory bill. He said all health care licenses are subject to review, unless these protections have passed.

The AG’s Office told KETV last week that it is “responsible for ensuring the safety of patients.”

“[The Attorney General] is charged with reviewing complaints as to medical professionals who violate the terms of their licenses,” the AG’s Office told KETV. “We take that obligation very seriously, and the office will look at any medical professional who has been alleged to have violated the conditions of their license.”

‘Games with people’s lives’

State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, who sought the legal protections this year, pulled his bill last week. He said it was “hijacked” by a handful of “hostile” amendments that imperiled the “goal of making a functioning medical cannabis program available to sick Nebraskans.”

Among the amendments were requirements that protections only be allowed if the recommendation was “based upon a preponderance of the current scientific evidence.” And only in-state providers could be protected if they followed current or future state regulations.

Crista Eggers of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, the group that led the 2024 petition drive, said the defeat of Cavanaugh’s bill was “one of the most disgraceful displays” she had seen in the Legislature. She said politicians played “games with people’s lives.”

“I hope they will remember who ignored their vote and dismissed their suffering, because I know I will,” Eggers said. “I will remember who forced me to go home and tell my son we failed him again.”

Eggers, whose pre-teen son, Colton, has severe epileptic seizures, told the commission Monday it must work harder and faster and answer questions about when the program will be accessible.

Next steps for the commission

One of the commission’s four licensed cultivators asked for a slight variance in its grow plan so it will be ready for harvest by October 1. The cultivator’s representative, Michael Johnson, said refusal would delay planting until 2027. The commission granted the change 4-0.

Also Monday, the commission decided to move forward with hiring its own legal counsel rather than working with an attorney from Hilgers’ soffice. Some commissioners said it was about optics and the appearance of “impropriety,” not a judgment on the legal help so far.

The commission will also seek to hire an executive director and day-to-day staff.

The passage of another, much smaller medical cannabis bill this year, the first in state history, gave the commission the authority to set fees. That requires new regulations, which will have to wait for Hilgers and Pillen to sign off on the latest set of rules.

Any delay in approving the latest regulations could delay licensing of manufacturers, transporters and dispensaries and bottleneck the supply chain this fall.

Patients urge action

Tiffany Tex Gustafson, a double above-the-knee amputee who is paralyzed from the chest down, told the commissioners she is one patient waiting. She lives with one kidney, diabetes, gastroparesis and she is blind in one eye, which she said is the result of pharmaceuticals.

Gustafson said when voters spoke, she “finally felt hope,” that her suffering mattered, and she would no longer be a “criminal to survive day to day.” But she said hope is “slipping away.”

“I don’t have the luxury of waiting for political comfort. My pain doesn’t wait,” Gustafson testified.

She continued: “I’m not asking for special treatment. I’m just asking for dignity. My pain is real. The question is, is your empathy real? Do you even care?”

The next scheduled Medical Cannabis Commission meeting is 1 p.m. May 11.

This story was first published by Nebraska Examiner.

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