Election of medical cannabis commissioners proposed

Members of the General Affairs Committee considered a proposal Feb. 2 that would make the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission an elected board.

Nebraskans voted to approve two ballot measures at the November 2024 election related to medical cannabis. One provides protections to qualified individuals from legal penalties for possessing and using cannabis when recommended by a health care practitioner and the other created the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee the industry.

Currently, the five-member commission comprises the three governor-appointed members of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, and two other individuals who also are appointed by the governor.

LB934, introduced by Omaha Sen. John Cavanaugh, instead would require the five commissioners to be elected to four-year terms on nonpartisan ballots through staggered statewide general elections, beginning in 2028. District lines would mirror those of the five seats on the Nebraska Public Service Commission.

Cavanaugh said the current commissioners were “hand selected by the governor for their expressed hostility toward medical cannabis in any form” and have not carried out the intent of the proposals approved by 71% of Nebraska voters.

“The commission has adopted regulations that restrict access to such an extent as to make [medical cannabis] inaccessible,” Cavanaugh said. “[LB934] ensures that the commission … will be elected by the people who entrusted them to regulate medical cannabis establishments in good faith.”

Dominic Gillen echoed those sentiments in his support of LB934. He said making the commission an elected board would allow for more direct accountability for decisions that contradict or narrow the initiatives passed by voters.

“When rules take away rights or make access harder, they reach beyond the commission’s authority,” Gillen said. “LB934 is about getting the structure right now, before barriers will become permanent.”

Proponent Troy Burgess expressed concern about a lack of transparency from the current commission regarding their decisions. Members have failed to communicate with cultivator license applicants regarding the grading scale that is used to approve or deny those applications, he said.

Burgess also said commissioners have not taken comments from industry experts and impacted communities into consideration when creating regulations.

“What we’ve tried with the [commission] isn’t working,” Burgess said. “We have patients that will die before we ever have medical cannabis in Nebraska.”

No one testified in opposition to LB934 and the committee took no immediate action on the proposal.