GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) – Gov. Jim Pillen signed medical cannabis regulations for Nebraska about a week ago, capping a process that Attorney General Mike Hilgers said required careful consideration.
Hilgers signed off on the regulations before Pillen finalized them. According to the Nebraska Examiner, the regulations limit the state to 12 medical cannabis dispensaries allocated by judicial district. Buffalo and Hall counties will share one dispensary under that framework.
The measure was passed by voters in 2024, and Hilgers said the delay in implementation was the result of legal and logistical challenges.
“I think if you look at the timeframe for these kinds of laws to stand up the commission, as I mentioned, get regulations passed, I think it was a zone of time that we would expect,” Hilgers said.
Hilgers said he still maintains the medical cannabis measure should not have appeared on the 2024 ballot due to legal issues with the petition process, including a case against petition notary Jacy Todd.
“I think it was an important statement. The jury came back, I think, in less than an hour, that the rules matter. When you sign the circulator oath and you do the notarization, that is a significant check on people cheating. We have to enforce the rules and we have to follow the rules, and so I think it’s a reflection of the fact that, one, there was cheating going on in the marijuana petition context, and, number two, Nebraska still care that the rules matter,” Hilgers said.
In April Todd was sentenced to pay nearly $4,000 for the charges on which he was found guilty. He has since appealed that ruling.
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