Nebraska Medical Cannabis Program Excluded from Federal Protections

Nebraska is not listed among states protected from federal cannabis
law enforcement in the national update published last month, the Nebraska
Examiner reports. Since 2014, Congress has passed a provision which
prevents the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies from using
federal funds to interfere with state medical cannabis programs but,
despite Nebraskans approving the reforms in 2024, the state is not listed
among those protected from federal enforcement.

Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana,
which led the 2024 ballot measures, told the Examiner that, in the eyes of
advocates, “this wasn’t an oversight.”

“The fact that we were not added to the rider to provide the same
protections that every other state has on this, you really have to wonder
‘why’ and who is behind this.” — Eggers to the Examiner

State Attorney General Mike Hilgers has pursued legal challenges against
the reforms and has threatened the state Medical Cannabis Commission and
patients that they are violating federal laws. The state Supreme Court is
considering a challenge by a former state senator that argues the medical
cannabis law is unconstitutional because it contradicts federal law. The
court could also soon issue a ruling on another case that challenges the
validity of signatures on the two medical cannabis petitions that voters
approved to legalize medical cannabis in the state in 2024.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) said that he respects “the
will of Nebraskans and the process of the ballot amendments” but that if
the state’s “laws are at odds with federal laws, a process will have to
play out.” He did not comment on whether he had anything to do with
Nebraska being left off the list of protected states.

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), said in a statement that he had “not
interfered” and that the query from the Examiner was “the first
[he’s] heard of this particular issue.”

“Regardless,” he said in the statement, “I am for states having the lead
when it comes to cannabis policies and prefer the federal government stay
away.”