Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers announced Tuesday he has signed off on rules for medical marijuana that a commission charged with drafting regulations approved earlier this year.
The Medical Cannabis Commission OK'd the regulations in April, which include requiring a recommendation from an in-state provider to legally possess up to 5 ounces of medical cannabis and for certain licensed cultivators to grow the plant.
"As to constitutionality, I conclude that the medical cannabis regulations do not clearly violate the state or federal Constitutions on their face," Hilgers said in a statement Tuesday.
Mike Hilgers
Hilgers has been critical of medical cannabis despite voters overwhelmingly voting to legalize it in 2024 at the ballot box. And while 71% of Nebraskans voted for legalization and 67% for regulations, state lawmakers still have not passed legislation to facilitate access, leaning on arguments about it being classified alongside the most dangerous drugs and concerns about regulations being a recreational system in disguise.
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Hilgers said while he is doing his statutory duty by approving the regulations, he still believes issues could arise with an outstanding lawsuit the Nebraska Supreme Court is considering that seeks to invalidate a large number of petition signatures.
"I write to highlight that an outstanding legal challenge may erase the statutory authority for the regulations, and that future medical cannabis regulations may raise concerns under the federal Constitution," Hilgers wrote.
If the Supreme Court determines the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act did not receive the required signatures to make it on the November 2024 ballot, Hilgers said it would no longer be "good law," meaning any cannabis regulations created under the act would "lack the requisite statutory authority."
The attorney general's announcement comes just a week after the four-member Medical Cannabis Commission voted unanimously to clear the way for the first state-licensed cultivator, MahāMotā Cultivation Company in Raymond, to put the first legal marijuana plants in Nebraska into the ground.
Up to four cultivators can be licensed in the state at a time and each licensed grower can only have up to 1,250 flowering plants at a time, per the regulations put forth by the commission. The state also allows up to four medical cannabis product manufacturers, 12 transporters and 12 dispensaries.
As of April this year, the federal government classifies state-licensed medical cannabis as a Schedule III drug, defined as a drug with moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.
In a statement Tuesday, Jocelyn Brasher, a Democratic candidate for Nebraska attorney general, said Hilgers, a Republican, is "trying to have it both ways."
"He wants credit for signing off on medical cannabis regulations while continuing to waste taxpayer dollars on frivolous litigation. Even today while signing off, he used his office to cast doubt and keep the door open to overturning an election result he does not agree with," Brasher said. "Nebraskans deserve an attorney general who they can trust to respect the law, honor election results and serve the people."
The regulations will now head to Gov. Jim Pillen's desk for approval. The governor had signed off on temporary regulations before the voter-imposed July 1 deadline. Those temporary regulations expire July 15.
