Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana wraps first town hall tour with final stop in Lincoln – KHGI
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by Morgan Ahlstrom
LINCOLN, Neb. — After traveling across Nebraska to answer questions about medical cannabis, advocates with Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana wrapped up their first town hall tour with a final stop in Lincoln on Monday.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana Executive Director Crista Eggers said the tour, which ran from Scottsbluff to Lincoln, was aimed at reaching parts of the state the organization had not yet visited and responding to people looking for reliable information.
“It really was just seeing a need of individuals wanting more information and not knowing where to get that information,” Eggers said. “You know the basis of what we’ve been doing for many years has been about educating the public on medical cannabis.”
The town hall drew both longtime supporters and people newer to the issue, including former state Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, who said she remembers meeting Eggers when the initiative began. Pansing Brooks argued that medical cannabis should be viewed in the context of other legal medications.
“For people to say this is too dangerous, opioids are more dangerous, morphine is more dangerous,” Pansing Brooks said. “I mean there are drugs that are legal. I mean there are drugs that are legal that are being used according to how they need to be used and the same thing can happen here.”
Others at the event, including Dominic Gillen, voiced frustration and repeated a common message from advocates: that the will of voters is not being followed and that the Medical Cannabis Commission is not following statute. Gillen said the attorney general has warned of legal action if the commission proceeds with licensing.
“The attorney general has threatened since the beginning that he would take the commission to court and sue them if they started issuing licenses, if they started following through on what they were supposed to be doing,” Gillen said.
Earlier Monday morning, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, advocates and lawmakers joined Americans for Safe Access in a Zoom meeting after Nebraska was omitted from the 2026 Commerce Justice Science amendment. The amendment prohibits the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration from interfering with state-authorized medical cannabis programs.
State Sen. John Cavanaugh and Dan Osborn have signed pledges committing to advancing a national medical cannabis framework centered on patients and health care. Cavanaugh said people do not understand the medicine.
“When I’m in Congress, I’m committed to co-sponsoring legislation that will give effect to medical cannabis at the state level, continue to advocate every day in partnership with these families. Cause that’s what you deserve is a partner, not someone who is going to put themselves first,” Cavanaugh said.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and advocates are expected to next appear at Cavanaugh’s hearing for LB933 on Thursday. The bill was introduced to help protect health care workers who recommend medical cannabis.
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