Omaha Tribe of Nebraska plans to open its first cannabis dispensary by early 2026

While the process to bring medical marijuana to Nebraska is moving in fits and starts, plans for recreational marijuana are moving quickly by comparison.

The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, which legalized cannabis for both recreational and medical use in July, has announced plans to open a dispensary early next year.

John Cartier, the attorney general for the Omaha Tribe, said the process is going well, and tribal officials are currently looking to create a regulatory commission.

“I was impressed with the amount of applicants; it was just over 70 folks who applied to be on our Nebraska cannabis commission,” Cartier said. “The structure of it is based on our title 51 Cannabis Control code. There're three spots for tribal members and then there's two spots for non-tribal members who have significant industry experience.”

He said officials narrowed it down to 14 candidates for the five-person commission. The non-native members do not necessarily have to be from Nebraska, just have significant experience within the cannabis industry, but Cartier said most who applied were Nebraskans.

After the commission is created, the next step will be licensing, which in the short term will only be for the tribe itself.

“I have drafted our cannabis regulations that's going to cement the kind of landscape of what the application process looks like and the requirements,” Cartier said. “The most important part of that, though, is focusing on a vertical license that will be awarded to the tribe, or the tribe working with a partner in [a] joint venture capacity, and that will be the only vertical license issued.”

A vertical license in this case means that the Omaha Tribe will be able to grow and sell cannabis.

“That also includes transportation, testing, really everything you need to support a business, from growing the cannabis plant to transporting it to dispensary and then ultimately selling it,” Cartier said.

He said there is also potential for licensing smaller grow operations created by interested tribe members, but for now the one license is the focus to meet that early 2026 dispensary goal.

Cartier became the Omaha Tribe’s AG earlier this year, but he said interest in a cannabis policy change goes back to 2015, when the tribe held a referendum on the matter. There also are financial reasons to move forward with recreational marijuana.

“With the budget cuts anticipated for next year all across Indian country, we're looking at significant -- like up to 30% to 40% -- cuts across the board for a lot of our programs,” Cartier said. “So really, it's a financial necessity to explore these types of revenue options, as well as industries that provide and create a lot of jobs.”

One question that arose when the Omaha Tribe legalized medical and recreational cannabis use was how Nebraska officials, who have opposed legalization efforts, would react.

“I had a good conversation with Nebraska's Attorney General, Mike Hilgers, on this subject, to see if we can come to an understanding about, you know, the direction of our program, his concerns, and you know all that,” Cartier said. “Of course, with the backdrop that us as a sovereign nation within a state, we have certain flexibilities and freedoms to go down this route, whether or not they support us.”

Hilgers could not be reached for comment.