{"id":85804,"date":"2026-04-14T08:42:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T16:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/04\/14\/nebraska-officials-approve-medical-marijuana-rules-sending-them-to-attorney-general-and-governor\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T19:47:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T03:47:34","slug":"nebraska-officials-approve-medical-marijuana-rules-sending-them-to-attorney-general-and-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/04\/14\/nebraska-officials-approve-medical-marijuana-rules-sending-them-to-attorney-general-and-governor\/","title":{"rendered":"Nebraska Officials Approve Medical Marijuana Rules, Sending Them To Attorney General And Governor"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a standard process for review of regulations which will be followed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u201471 percent for legalization, 67 percent for regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth 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,\u201d Pillen and Hilgers said at the time. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. It\u2019s unclear why Nebraska was left off the latest update in January. Today, 47 states are protected.<\/p>\n

\u2018Standard process for review\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019s three liquor commissioners serve on both commissions.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

This time, Pillen\u2019s signature on the regulations would give a more permanent force of law.<\/p>\n

Asked for comment Monday, Hilgers spokesperson Suzanne Gage said: \u201cThere is a standard process for review of regulations which will be followed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gage did not respond to a follow-up question about whether Hilgers\u2019s questioning about the constitutionality and validity of the 2024 laws would impact his review.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Hilgers and Pillen have spoken against the rescheduling effort. Trump has endorsed both for reelection this year.<\/p>\n

Legal protections for providers<\/strong><\/p>\n

At Monday\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Under current law, Nebraskans with a health care practitioner\u2019s recommendation can legally possess up to 5 ounces of medical cannabis. The recommendation does not have to come from an in-state doctor.<\/p>\n

The commission has decided to restrict access to commission-licensed dispensaries\u2014the only route for legal sales in the Cornhusker State\u2014to patients with in-state recommendations.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Commissioners, responding to public comments on the regulations, said they want to limit it to Nebraska providers, \u201cbut might consider a waiver process in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The AG\u2019s Office told KETV last week that it is \u201cresponsible for ensuring the safety of patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[The Attorney General] is charged with reviewing complaints as to medical professionals who violate the terms of their licenses,\u201d the AG\u2019s Office told KETV. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Games with people\u2019s lives\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, who sought the legal protections this year, pulled his bill last week. He said it was \u201chijacked\u201d by a handful of \u201chostile\u201d amendments that imperiled the \u201cgoal of making a functioning medical cannabis program available to sick Nebraskans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the amendments were requirements that protections only be allowed if the recommendation was \u201cbased upon a preponderance of the current scientific evidence.\u201d And only in-state providers could be protected if they followed current or future state regulations.<\/p>\n

Crista Eggers of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, the group that led the 2024 petition drive, said the defeat of Cavanaugh\u2019s bill was \u201cone of the most disgraceful displays\u201d she had seen in the Legislature. She said politicians played \u201cgames with people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope they will remember who ignored their vote and dismissed their suffering, because I know I will,\u201d Eggers said. \u201cI will remember who forced me to go home and tell my son we failed him again.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Next steps for the commission<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the commission\u2019s four licensed cultivators asked for a slight variance in its grow plan so it will be ready for harvest by October 1. The cultivator\u2019s representative, Michael Johnson, said refusal would delay planting until 2027. The commission granted the change 4-0.<\/p>\n

Also Monday, the commission decided to move forward with hiring its own legal counsel rather than working with an attorney from Hilgers\u2019 soffice. Some commissioners said it was about optics and the appearance of \u201cimpropriety,\u201d not a judgment on the legal help so far.<\/p>\n

The commission will also seek to hire an executive director and day-to-day staff.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Any delay in approving the latest regulations<\/a> could delay licensing of manufacturers, transporters and dispensaries and bottleneck the supply chain this fall.<\/p>\n

Patients urge action<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Gustafson said when voters spoke, she \u201cfinally felt hope,\u201d that her suffering mattered, and she would no longer be a \u201ccriminal to survive day to day.\u201d But she said hope is \u201cslipping away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have the luxury of waiting for political comfort. My pain doesn\u2019t wait,\u201d Gustafson testified.<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cI\u2019m not asking for special treatment. I\u2019m just asking for dignity. My pain is real. The question is, is your empathy real? Do you even care?\u201d<\/p>\n

The next scheduled Medical Cannabis Commission meeting is 1 p.m. May 11.<\/p>\n

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

The post Nebraska Officials Approve Medical Marijuana Rules, Sending Them To Attorney General And Governor<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\u201cThere is a standard process for review of regulations which will be followed.\u201d 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 periodsContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85804"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85804"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85805,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85804\/revisions\/85805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}