Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission Imposes Plant Limits on Cultivators at Governor’s Request  

During an emergency meeting on Monday, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis
Commission (NMCC) placed limits on the number of plants licensed
cultivators could grow, Nebraska Public Media reports. The move came in
response to a request from Gov. Jim Pillen (R) who refused to sign newly
approved regulations without the limit in place.

In a letter to the commission, Pillen said he was withholding his signature
on the regulations because he wanted the NMCC to “strengthen” the
regulations “by implementing a limit on the number of plants a cannabis
cultivator is permitted to grow.”

“Leaving the cultivators without a limit would increase likelihood of an
overabundance of cannabis product that creates an unregulated, unintended
black-market supply. If an inclusion of plant population limits
for permitted cultivators can be included, I will support the remainder of
the proposed emergency regulations to go into effect.” — Pillen, in the
letter

The commission subsequently placed a limit of 1,250 flowering plants at any
given time for each licensed cultivator, of which there are four permitted
under state law.

Crista Eggers, the executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana,
which backed the campaign to enact the reforms, told Nebraska Public Radio
that the number is inadequate.

“What we’ve seen in states across the nation, when you too narrowly
restrict the cannabis product or the ability for people to grow it or
manufacture it or to sell it on the shelves in the dispensary, we
unfortunately see the black market just skyrocket,” she said.

Pillen has not yet signed the amended regulations, so it’s unclear whether
the 1,250-plant limit will be acceptable.