Nebraska medical marijuana launch in doubt after political deadlock

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Nebraska lawmakers on Thursday declined to advance a bill that would have regulated the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana program.

That means that, for now, the state is staring down a situation where medical cannabis would be technically legal but potentially “inaccessible” to patients, according to Nebraska Public Media.

Nebraska voters in November overwhelmingly approved two MMJ ballot initiatives:

One legalized possession of up to 5 ounces of cannabis for adults with a doctor’s recommendation.
One created a state Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee a regulated MMJ industry.

That was despite legal challenges that sought to invalidate the ballot initiatives.

Though effort to keep the measures off the ballot failed, a subsequent lawsuit from a former state senator filed after the measure passed is pending and appears to have support from top state officials, including Gov. Jim Pillen.

One lawmaker cited the pending lawsuit as a reason to delay passing any related legislation, according to Nebraska Public Media.

That would include Legislative Bill 677, which its sponsor, state Sen. Ben Hansen, said is necessary to prevent a “Wild West” situation in Nebraska.

Without a regulatory bill, a state medical cannabis commission would have “no effective power or funds to regulate” an MMJ program, according to the Nebraska Examiner.

However, the bill stalled in committee on Thursday.

Lawmakers did reject a proposed amendment that would have banned smokable flower and removed post-traumatic stress disorder from a list of qualifying conditions.

It’s unclear what will happen next.

There are several ways a bill could pass through the Legislature before 2026, the Examiner reported.

But in the meantime, according to one state senator, Attorney General Mike Hilgers is interfering in a way that benefits the litigation seeking to undo the MMJ vote entirely.

Said state Sen. John Cavanaugh: “He’s representing the interests of his office, and I think this political agenda that he has continued to pursue before he was attorney general against the legalization of medical cannabis.”

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