Bill regulating medical marijuana advances to Unicameral floor

In November, Nebraska voters approved initiatives legalizing possession of up to five ounces of medical marijuana. Thursday afternoon, a bill to regulate it advanced from the Legislature’s General Affairs Committee.

The committee voted 5 to 3 to advance an amended bill that includes 15 valid conditions for which doctors can recommend the substance. PTSD is not included in those conditions. Sen. Rick Holdcroft, the committee’s chair, said no one is entirely happy with the legislation, but the amendment was a necessary compromise to get it to the floor.

“We had three members who wouldn't vote for anything that didn't allow smoking and you had three members who said, if there’s smoking in it, I'm not voting for it," he said. "So the compromise was, there's no smoking in the bill, but we are allowing some bud and flower.”

Edibles, tinctures and vaping are also allowed under the amendment.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, a longtime opponent of marijuana legalization, has a pending lawsuit over the legitimacy of the signatures used on the ballot initiative. He argues that fraudulent signatures should nullify the election result. Sen. Jared Storm, who voted against advancing the legislation from committee, said he would have rather waited to see how the lawsuit plays out before proceeding.

“If we put out a bill, we've essentially legalized medical marijuana, and the ballot initiative doesn't mean anything," he said. "I wanted the attorney general to have his day in court, and then I wanted to come back next session with a true medical marijuana bill that had some true guardrails in it."

There are 18 days left in the legislative session and the bill will have to clear three rounds of debate on the floor before it goes to Gov. Jim Pillen.