Marijuana Moment: Nebraska Officials Approve Start Of Medical Cannabis Cultivation

[Tokeativity]

“Every day that goes by, we’re losing time and availability.”

By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner

The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission cleared the way Monday for the first state-licensed cultivator to put marijuana plants in the ground, while another is taking steps to fight a local zoning decision.

The four-member commission voted unanimously to ratify the successful inspection of MahāMotā Cultivation Company in Raymond. This paves the way for the first legal marijuana plants in the state to take root. The commission began meeting last June, and starting Wednesday, the commission will begin accepting applications for product manufacturers.

The commission can license four product manufacturers, under agency regulations, which also allow licensing of up to 12 transporters and up to 12 dispensaries.

‘We’re losing time’

Meanwhile, former State Sen. Kent Rogert, a registered lobbyist and sole owner of another licensed cultivator group, KRL Med LLC, said Monday that his company has been stopped in its tracks over a reversal from the Washington County planning and zoning administrator.

Rogert said commission staff had been set to inspect the property on May 26, but days before, the county administrator said KRL Med could not use a recommended agricultural exemption to grow marijuana. Hemp, Rogert was told, would qualify, but not marijuana.

“Every day that goes by, we’re losing time and availability,” Rogert told commissioners Monday.

The former lawmaker said the Washington County rules are “very, very broad, and we definitely fit within that,” but his company is complying with and appealing a stop-work order that also prevents Rogert and his team from going on the property or finishing a greenhouse.

Rogert said his group has reached out to the Washington County attorney, but has not heard back.

Last year, as state lawmakers considered a broad medical cannabis regulatory bill backed by supporters of the 2024 ballot measure, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) united dozens of sheriffs and law enforcement organizations in opposition. The Washington County sheriff was one such opponent.

Upon questioning from commissioners about whether Rogert’s company could grow this year, Rogert said the “days are ticking away pretty fast,” but, if resolved soon, he’s “cautiously optimistic that we can get something done.”

Commissioner J. Michael Coffey of Omaha, a retired district judge, asked whether Rogert would pursue litigation. Rogert said he will go through the local appeal first, outside the courts.

Commissioner Lorelle Mueting, interim commission chair, offered to help however Rogert needs, and commissioners voted 4-0 to renew KRL Med LLC’s license for six more months, a sign they are at least OK with Rogert trying to move forward.

Two other cultivators

Another cultivator, Meadowlark Medicinals, delayed its inspection. Mueting did not give a reason why but said when the cultivator is ready, an inspection can be rescheduled.

Commissioners on Monday also approved the request of the fourth and final licensed cultivator, Midwest Cultivator Group, to relocate from Omaha to Gretna. The group also faced changing zoning requirements in Omaha, but a leader of the company, Robert Wagner, said Gretna leaders already approved a requested conditional-use permit for the organization.

Wagner said while the company is monitoring the movement of other license types, they will be ready to move forward with a “minimal viable product” when possible and after clearing inspection.

Product manufacturer applications

Commissioner Jim Elworth of Nebraska City made a successful motion, 3-1, to open up applications for product manufacturers beginning Wednesday. The plan is to solicit applications over the next four weeks and, once the commission can assess application fees, ask applicants to submit the payment and comply with any updated regulations at that time.

Elworth said the Legislature appropriating funds for the commission’s work influenced his decision to move ahead, rather than wait for pending regulations to be approved first.

“I’m just very concerned about waiting that much longer,” Elworth said.

Mueting, the no vote, expressed concern that not accepting application fees would make Nebraska an outlier nationwide for another round of applicants. She was also concerned the application time frame was longer than the previous 19-day period for cultivators last fall.

However, Commissioner Bud Synhorst of Lincoln agreed to Elworth’s plan with the idea that applicants could amend their application—or back out—later.

Elworth said he will work with commission staff so applicants understand that fees will be charged and that there might be other changes later, such as a willingness to take on transportation duties and amend the planned license type.

“Let’s get them in hand so we can deal with them as fairly as possible,” Elworth said.

The commission’s next scheduled meeting is 1 p.m. July 20, which would be five days after the current set of temporary regulations expires. The regulations can be extended for 90 days.

Regulations await sign off

Commissioners in April voted unanimously to advance a formal set of regulations to Hilgers for his signature. Hilgers, who opposes medical marijuana, has not yet signed, but if he does, Gov. Jim Pillen (R) would also need to sign off for the regulations to take effect without an end date. After that, commissioners hope to amend the regulations once again to add application fees, as authorized by the Legislature this spring.

Hilgers’s office did not respond to a reporter’s question Monday on the status of the regulations, which were sent to him in mid-April.

The issue of medical cannabis is also shaping up to be a hot-button issue for 2026 elections, with Hilgers’s general election opponent, Democrat Jocelyn Brasher, a former assistant attorney general, attending Monday’s meeting to see the commission’s work for the first time.

“Today’s meeting made one thing clear: That people and patients in Nebraska deserve more than delay, confusion and dysfunction currently happening under Attorney General Mike Hilgers,” Brasher said after the meeting. “As attorney general, I will uphold the will of the people and respect Nebraska voters on medical cannabis.”

Asked about the possible hiccup, should Hilgers not sign in time, Mueting told reporters after the meeting: “We anticipate final regulations to be done by then.”

Other agency business

In other agency action:

• The commission will end its agreement with the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission this Friday that had allowed the sharing of office space and staff on a limited basis for almost a year. The overlapping structure largely existed because three of the four commissioners—all but Mueting—also serve on the Liquor Control Commission.
• The commission will seek permanent office space for dedicated staff and pursue changes to a lease agreement to permanently use a hearing room in downtown Lincoln.
• A job posting for a commission executive director, with a hiring salary of $100,000, is now public.
• The commission hired legal counsel. The commission had previously received legal help from the chief legal officer of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, an agency that has long opposed medical cannabis, and, recently, an attorney from the AG’s Office. Commissioners in April said the move was about optics and a possible appearance of “impropriety,” not a judgment on past legal help.

This story was first published by Nebraska Examiner.

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

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