{"id":85266,"date":"2026-01-28T05:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T13:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/01\/28\/nebraska-bill-would-let-medical-marijuana-regulators-remove-patient-protections-advocates-say\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T19:46:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T03:46:50","slug":"nebraska-bill-would-let-medical-marijuana-regulators-remove-patient-protections-advocates-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/01\/28\/nebraska-bill-would-let-medical-marijuana-regulators-remove-patient-protections-advocates-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Nebraska Bill Would Let Medical Marijuana Regulators Remove Patient Protections, Advocates Say"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

One senator said the bill would grant discretion and authority to a commission that \u201chas already demonstrated that it is openly hostile to the will of the voters.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission could be granted broader power to regulate patients, caregivers and health care practitioners than voters approved for it in 2024 under a new legislative bill.<\/p>\n

Legislative Bill 1235, from the Legislature\u2019s General Affairs Committee, would allow the commission to write regulations around the \u201cNebraska Medical Cannabis Patient Protection Act,\u201d which\u00a071 percent of voters approved\u00a0in 2024. The law voters approved allows patients to possess up to 5 ounces of medical cannabis with an in-state or out-of-state doctor\u2019s recommendation.<\/p>\n

Voters, with\u00a067 percent approval, created the Medical Cannabis Commission with a second\u00a0ballot measure in 2024\u2014the \u201cNebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act.\u201d It gives the commission \u201cexclusive\u201d regulatory authority over licensed cannabis establishments.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue, who is leading LB 1235 as committee chair and is carrying the bill on behalf of the commission, described the proposal as providing additional regulatory \u201cstructure\u201d for the commission. Of the additional powers being proposed, he said he\u2019s \u201cnot real familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, apparently, that\u2019s a good thing to have, I mean, as a commission,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not sure why that was left out of the referendum, but that\u2019s about really all I know about that part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holdcroft\u2019s four fellow Republican committee members in the officially nonpartisan Legislature cosponsored the bill, allowing it to come from the committee rather than one senator. The committee\u2019s three Democratic members did not sign on. The bill would need five votes to advance from committee.<\/p>\n

Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, which led the 2024 ballot measures, disagrees with Holdcroft\u2019s approach. She said the bill is \u201cextremely concerning\u201d and would strip protections from patients who legally possess medical cannabis and consolidate power in a governor-appointed commission that advocates have\u00a0pushed back against for months.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill forces us to face reality that our own children and most others will have protections ripped away from them,\u201d said Eggers, a mother who seeks access to medical cannabis for her 11-year-old son, Colton, who has epilepsy and severe seizures.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough there are some provisions of this bill that we would support, we do not believe this is a good-faith effort,\u201d Eggers continued. \u201cCurrently, as written, we will seek to see it fail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Failing patients\u2019<\/h4>\n

The commission has leaned toward a\u00a0small, tightly regulated program. Regulators have so far gone through multiple rounds of temporary regulations.<\/p>\n

Under the\u00a0latest version of commission regulations, dispensaries could not sell smokes, vapes, most edibles and products with high tetrahydrocannabinol concentrations. Cultivators could only have so many flowering plants at once.<\/p>\n

Physicians would need to sign up for the commission\u2019s program and complete additional education to stay in. Patients would only be able to access commission-licensed dispensaries through one of these licensed in-state physicians.<\/p>\n

Under LB 1235, patients and caregivers, as well as physicians, would need to pay an application fee and follow the commission rules if they want to legally possess medical cannabis in Nebraska at all. Nebraskans who turned to other states for the medicine in the meantime would legally be left behind.<\/p>\n

The Holdcroft-led bill, by giving power over the Patient Protection Act, also could lead to more restrictions, such as limiting availability to people with qualifying conditions alluded to but not listed in LB 1235<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Eggers said families and advocates fought for patient and caregiver protections. Advocates have continued to push for similar protections for physicians because many patients have said that few, if any, Nebraska physicians have recommended cannabis since the laws took effect in December 2024.<\/p>\n

Eggers pointed to those challenges and said the commission has been \u201cfailing patients and bowing to the political pressures from our governor and attorney general.\u201d<\/p>\n

Medicinal vs. recreational<\/h4>\n

The commission is still in the process of writing regulations. Three cultivator licenses have been issued, but regulators are still setting up a seed-to-sale tracking system before growing begins. Such a system would be provided under law and possibly funded via LB 1235.<\/p>\n

The state is still likely months away from licensing dispensaries and hosting its first legal sales. Without the commission\u2019s licensing system, cannabis can\u2019t legally be purchased in the state.<\/p>\n

LB 1235 would help the commission\u2019s regulatory mission by allowing it to collect fees and fines. A funding mechanism has been an important component for Eggers, Holdcroft and other lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Under LB 1235, medical cannabis could also be subject to sales taxes, at a statewide rate of 5.5 cents per $1. The proceeds would go to property tax relief.<\/p>\n

The bill would also give the commission regulatory power over testing facilities for cannabis products. Regulators could hire a dedicated executive director, at a salary set by commissioners, and commissioners would be paid $12,500 each year, plus reimbursements for commission-related expenses.<\/p>\n

Of the public\u2019s concerns over the current commission, Holdcroft said the regulatory commission is what voters put in place.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers declined to support an\u00a0advocate-backed bill in 2025 seeking additional regulatory guardrails. Some senators hesitated, they said, in part to give the commission time to act first.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the people voted for medical cannabis,\u201d Holdcroft said. \u201cI think most of the voices you\u2019re hearing would like to see it transition more into a recreational piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eggers and other advocates say they aren\u2019t pushing for recreational marijuana and that, under the committee bill, patients seeking medicine would be left behind. Supporters and opponents have both acknowledged that the gridlock might accelerate efforts to legalize recreational marijuana.<\/p>\n

\u2018Respectful of the voters\u2019<\/h4>\n

State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, committee vice chair, is one of the three Democrats on the General Affairs Committee who did not sign on to LB 1235.<\/p>\n

He said the bill would grant discretion and authority to a commission that \u201chas already demonstrated that it is openly hostile to the will of the voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cavanaugh said successful regulations would make medical providers feel safe in exercising their judgment, not feeling like writing recommendations would put them at risk. He added that voters created the commission as a \u201cnecessity\u201d for a well-regulated industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cA successful program is respectful of the voters but, more importantly, respectful of the patients and the families of those patients who just want help,\u201d Cavanaugh said.<\/p>\n

Cavanaugh\u2019s frustrations similarly led him to introduce\u00a0LB 933<\/a>, to explicitly give physicians protections, and\u00a0LB 934<\/a>, to\u00a0make seats on the cannabis board elected<\/a>. The election bill is also up for a public hearing Monday in Holdcroft\u2019s committee.<\/p>\n

Next week\u2019s committee hearing will be at the same time the Medical Cannabis Commission meets. Asked about the scheduling overlap, Holdcroft said, \u201cI don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t follow that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Physician protections<\/h4>\n

Holdcroft said he views the distinction between a \u201cmedicinal\u201d and \u201crecreational\u201d program as the doctor-patient relationship. He said allowing the purchase of 5 ounces of raw cannabis flower, which he said could make 400 smokable joints, isn\u2019t medicine.<\/p>\n

Raw flower was a point of contention last year, and the 2026 bill would strike language saying \u201cmedical cannabis accessories\u201d include equipment to smoke, vape, inhale or otherwise ingest cannabis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that we ever envisioned smoking medicine,\u201d Holdcroft said.<\/p>\n

Holdcroft said he wanted the bill to preserve the ballot language around medical cannabis equipment and accessories. He said the proposed changes around smoking, vaping, inhaling and ingesting medical cannabis were inadvertently left in and that he would be bringing an amendment to change that.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Stan Clouse of Kearney, who joined Holdcroft and the three Democrats on the committee to advance the 2025 bill from committee, before it failed 23-22, said he\u2019s talked with physicians who say well-regulated, prescribed cannabis can be helpful. He said lawmakers need to be thoughtful and careful but should move forward.<\/p>\n

He said giving the commission authority over qualifying conditions is \u201ckey\u201d to the program\u2019s success and that physicians need to have the opportunity to prescribe \u201cas they see fit, not as we direct them to \u2026 if they believe that it helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should not be refrained from doing that based on the risk of prosecution,\u201d Clouse said.<\/p>\n

\u2018The law of the land\u2019<\/h4>\n

State Sen. Jared Storm of David City, another Republican committee member, led opposition to the advocate-backed bill in 2025 for additional regulatory structure. His opposition was also because of a pending Nebraska Supreme Court case over whether the ballot measures were properly on the 2024 ballot. A district court judge said they were, but the attorney general, secretary of state and a former state senator appealed the decision.<\/p>\n

The case was\u00a0argued in December\u00a0and could be decided at any time.<\/p>\n

Storm said adding a funding mechanism was a positive, \u201cbut I don\u2019t want to see the bill get hijacked and have a bunch of stuff attached to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Funding for the commission has also been contemplated in the state\u2019s budget bills from Pillen,\u00a0LB 1071<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0LB 1072<\/a>. Pillen\u2019s budget proposal sets aside $1.75 million for the Medical Cannabis Commission through mid-2027.<\/p>\n

Storm said he had no thoughts on the proposed expansion of the commission\u2019s regulatory power. He said the bill was probably a little broader than it needed to be, at 28 pages but that the committee wanted a \u201cplaceholder\u201d before the Feb. 2 hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Supreme Court rules it\u2019s all valid, and we have medical cannabis in Nebraska, then that\u2019s the law of the land,\u201d Storm said. \u201cBut I want to see it stay medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was first published by Nebraska Examiner.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The post Nebraska Bill Would Let Medical Marijuana Regulators Remove Patient Protections, Advocates Say<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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