{"id":39051,"date":"2025-05-21T18:31:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T00:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/?p=39051"},"modified":"2025-05-21T18:31:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T00:31:12","slug":"cloture-attempt-on-medical-cannabis-regulation-fails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/?p=39051","title":{"rendered":"Cloture attempt on medical cannabis regulation fails"},"content":{"rendered":"

A proposal seeking to regulate and tax medical cannabis in Nebraska after approval of two ballot initiatives last November stalled on the first round of debate May 20 following a failed cloture motion.<\/p>\n

\"Sen.
Sen. Ben Hansen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The successful ballot measures protect qualified individuals from legal penalties for possessing and using medical cannabis when recommended by a health care practitioner and create the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee the industry.<\/p>\n

The commission is required to establish criteria to accept or deny applications for registered cannabis establishments by July 1. Entities will be able to apply for licensure beginning Oct. 1.<\/p>\n

LB677, as introduced by Blair Sen. Ben Hansen, would provide a regulatory framework for medical cannabis and establish licenses for cultivators, dispensaries, product manufacturers, transporters, testing facilities and \u201cvertical\u201d facilities \u2014 those that both cultivate and dispense products.<\/p>\n

The bill would limit the number of licenses issued in each congressional district and give the commission through Oct. 1 to establish criteria for registering cannabis establishments. Entities could apply for licensure beginning Jan. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

Under the proposal, health care practitioners \u2014 defined as a physician, osteopathic physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner \u2014 would be authorized to issue a written recommendation for up to five ounces of medical cannabis for individuals with qualifying medical conditions. Individuals under age 18 would need approval from a legal parent or guardian with authority to make health care decisions.<\/p>\n

After receiving written notation from a health care provider, the bill would require an individual to apply for a registry card to identify them as a qualified patient or registered caregiver. The registry would be established directly through the commission and require an application fee of up to $45.<\/p>\n

The use or possession of cannabis on school grounds, at a child care facility or home day care, in a jail, adult or juvenile correctional facility or youth rehabilitation and treatment center and while operating a vehicle would be prohibited under the bill. Schools would have the authority to establish regulations that allow for students to use non-smoked or vaporized medical cannabis in certain areas.<\/p>\n

The measure also would enact a 4% sales tax on all medical cannabis products, with that revenue deposited into the Property Tax Credit Relief Fund.<\/p>\n

Hansen said the bill seeks to ensure medical cannabis is safely provided to qualifying patients by requiring product testing, seed-to-sale tracking, childproof packaging and warning labels for pregnant individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to treat this about as close as we possibly can to a pharmaceutical medication,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause if that\u2019s the intent [of the ballot initiative], we need to treat it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

An amendment offered by the General Affairs Committee would replace the bill with a modified proposal. Under the amendment, the sales tax would be increased to 5.5% and municipalities would be allowed to impose an additional 2% tax on dispensaries.<\/p>\n

The committee amendment also would prohibit the consumption of medical cannabis by smoking and limit the amount of dried flower a patient may possess to two ounces. Additionally, the amendment would narrow the definition of \u201cqualifying medical condition\u201d to 15 conditions recommended by the Nebraska Medical Association, including:
\n\u2022 cancer;
\n\u2022 autism with frequent or self-injurious or aggressive behavior;
\n\u2022 Crohn\u2019s disease or ulcerative colitis;
\n\u2022 epilepsy or epileptic seizures;
\n\u2022 HIV or AIDS;
\n\u2022 Huntington\u2019s disease;
\n\u2022 Parkinson\u2019s disease;
\n\u2022 spinal cord injury or a disease with residual neurological deficits;
\n\u2022 terminal illness with a probable life expectancy of under one year;
\n\u2022 Tourette\u2019s syndrome; and
\n\u2022 severe or chronic pain lasting longer than six months that is not adequately managed, in the opinion of a health care practitioner, despite treatment attempts using conventional medications other than opioids or opiates or physical interventions.<\/p>\n

The measure also includes a provision that would allow an out-of-state health care provider to recommend medical cannabis to a patient in Nebraska who they have been seeing for at least six months.<\/p>\n

Hansen supported the committee amendment, saying it would help establish one of the most \u201ccomprehensive, regulated and restrictive\u201d medical cannabis programs in the country.<\/p>\n

Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha also supported the proposal. He said it is the Legislature\u2019s responsibility to ensure that the medical cannabis measure passed by voters is safe, effective and medically sound. He said 47 other states already have implemented legislation to allow for the use of medical cannabis.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo things can be true at the same time \u2014 we can support access while also safeguarding against misuse or abuse,\u201d Fredrickson said. \u201cLet\u2019s put the right guardrails in place and \u2026 help build a system that we can be proud of and put our patients first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also supporting the bill and the committee amendment was Sen. Glen Meyer of Pender. He said several individuals had spoken to him regarding the relief they found through medical cannabis after other treatments and medications left them unable to perform everyday tasks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would expect [that] intelligent people with good hearts, which I believe this body is, can find a way to provide relief with some medical marijuana,\u201d Meyer said.<\/p>\n

Speaking in favor of the proposal, Omaha Sen. Dunixi Guereca expressed concern about the potential for medical cannabis to become inaccessible if its regulation is left solely to the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission created by the initiative.<\/p>\n

That commission will include the current three members of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission and two members appointed by the governor, individuals who Guereca characterized as \u201canti-marijuana\u201d advocates.<\/p>\n

Sen. Jared Storm of David City introduced a series of procedural motions to extend debate on the bill. He said the Legislature should not take action until the Nebraska Supreme Court rules on a pending case challenging the validity of the ballot initiatives.<\/p>\n

Storm also said LB677 as amended would not represent the will of Nebraska voters who chose to grant authority to implement rules and regulations for medical cannabis to the newly created commission and not the Legislature.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have sympathy for people who are struggling \u2026 but we have to get this right,\u201d he said. \u201cThe people voted [and] as a legislator, I will carry out the will of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Norfolk Sen. Robert Dover agreed and added that the commission has not yet had the opportunity to carry out the provisions of the ballot initiative. He said the two gubernatorial nominees first must be confirmed by the Legislature before they can begin to establish a regulatory framework.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would we as a Legislature start messing with a commission that hasn\u2019t even started to do its work in the first place?\u201d Dover said.<\/p>\n

Also speaking in opposition to the measure, Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln expressed concern regarding the \u201cbroad\u201d nature of the qualifying conditions laid out in the amendment. He worried that health care providers might exploit definitions such as \u201cchronic pain\u201d to provide medical cannabis to individuals who do not need it.<\/p>\n

Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner also opposed the bill, saying the federal Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of a cannabis-derived medication for certain types of epilepsy and as a treatment for nausea caused by chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the agency has approved some cannabis-derived products for medical use, it currently prohibits the federal legalization and medical prescription of cannabis,\u201d Ibach said. \u201cDo we follow those FDA guidelines or do we find our own path?\u201d<\/p>\n

After eight hours of debate, Hansen filed a motion to invoke cloture, which ceases debate and forces a vote on the bill and any underlying amendments.<\/p>\n

The motion failed on a 23-22 vote. Thirty-three votes were needed.<\/p>\n

A failed cloture motion results in debate on a proposal ceasing for the day. LB677 is unlikely to be placed on the agenda again this session.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A proposal seeking to regulate and tax medical cannabis in Nebraska after approval of two ballot initiatives last November stalled on the first round of debate May 20 following a failed cloture motion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[252],"class_list":["post-39051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-affairs","tag-sen-ben-hansen"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/LB677Hansen5-20-25a.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39051"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39053,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39051\/revisions\/39053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}