By Rhett Ashton Uleman
Medical marijuana was passed by voters with a 70% margin in 2024. However, Fourteen months later, no operational in-state dispensary system has been implemented, leaving Nebraskans without a legal way to obtain the medication.
Current delays in implementation, paired with pending state regulatory developments, are raising concerns for patients seeking cannabis to treat their debilitating health conditions.
Springfield resident Lia Post lives with complex regional pain syndrome, a chronic neurological condition sometimes referred to as “the suicide disease,” a nickname that reflects the severity of the pain and the tragic route that has been taken by numerous CRPS victims.
Nebraska medical cannabis patient Lia Post shows off her collection of receipts from out-of-state dispensaries, representing numerous road trips and a substantial amount of money spent out of state.
“I had pain that felt like electric snakes,” Post said.
Unable to obtain a cannabis recommendation from a Nebraska doctor, Post traveled to South Dakota and Missouri, where she obtained medical marijuana cards in both states.
Meanwhile, emergency regulations currently being proposed for Nebraska’s medical cannabis program drew residents to the State Office Building for a public comment hearing during the early afternoon of February 26th.
The proposed regulations would place additional limitations on the forms, amounts and potency levels of medical cannabis that patients would be allowed to possess. That authority doesn’t come without dispute, State Sen. John Cavanaugh recently spoke to the Omaha News about the emergency regulations proposed by the commission,
Medical cannabis advocates gather at the Nebraska State Office building for a public comment hearing to speak to a member of the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission about recently proposed emergency regulations.
“The commission is attempting to limit the amount, so decrease the amount that people can possess over a period of time and change the types that people can possess,” Cavanaugh said. “They do not have the authority to do either of those things.”
As state lawmakers and regulatory bodies work through voter-approved legislation and new policies, Nebraska patients and their families continue to wait for full access to become a reality.
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