Legal Hemp and Illegal Cannabis in Nebraska: What’s the Difference?
Ever wonder what the difference between legal hemp and illegal cannabis is? Different states have different rules: See what farmers in Nebraska need to do to not cross the line — and have their entire harvest destroyed.
Watch The Cannabis Question
The Cannabis Question is available to stream now on the PBS Video App or NOVA YouTube channel.
Community Outreach Toolkit
NOVA has created a toolkit for community organizations to engage more deeply with The Cannabis Question. The toolkit contains a background essay, strategies for planning different formats of events, discussion questions, a social media guide and more.
Organizations are also encouraged to create their own screenings and community discussions. If you are interested in hosting an event with the film at your organization, visit the website below and fill out the interest form to share information about your event with NOVA. They will be in touch to share promotional resources and can promote your event on their website.
Continue the Conversation
Use these resources to learn more
The NOVA documentary, The Cannabis Question, explores the story of cannabis from the criminalization that has disproportionately harmed communities of color to the latest medical understanding of the plant. What risks does cannabis pose to the developing brain? How much do we know about its potential medical benefits? As cannabis becomes socially accepted, scientists are still investigating its long-term health consequences.
Through a series of video clips from the film, this collection will help students better understand cannabis and its risks and benefits.
Explore these recent Nebraska Public Media stories that go in-depth on cannabis and hemp issues in Nebraska.
- As Hemp Growing Expands, Producers Careful to Produce Legal Crop (September 29, 2021)
- As Efforts to Bring Medical Marijuana to Nebraska Begin Again, Advocates and Opponents Ready For More Debate (September 16, 2021)
- Community College in Nebraska Launches ‘Cannabis Studies’ Major (August 30, 2021)
- Delta-8 THC Latest Hemp Derivative Spurring Growing Market (August 3, 2021)
- Crete's Cannabis Testing Laboratories Becomes Nebraska's First ISO-Certified Cannabis Lab (July 15, 2020)
- For Many Hemp Farmers, the First Year Was as 'Bad as It Can Get' (January 27, 2020)
- Hemp and the Challenges on Farming’s Frontier (July 15, 2019)
- Medical Marijuana Pros and Cons Discussed (January 2, 2019)
- Final Farm Bill Shows Hemp’s In, Food-Aid Work Requirements Are Out (December 11, 2018)
- Cannabis Growers Look To Traditional Farmers For Lessons (March 21, 2016)
- Nebraska begins state-funded cannabis drug research for epileptics (June 30, 2015)
Enjoy these other digital shorts produced by Nebraska Public Media in conjunction with NOVA's Science & Society initiative.
What is the Fungal Revolution?
Katy Ayers made a canoe — out of mushrooms. More specifically, she used mycelium, the unseen, vegetative body of a fungus that forms mushrooms. (Fun fact: Mushrooms are the reproductive organs of some fungi.)
Telemedicine: the Future of Medical Care in Rural Communities?
Faced with a little-understood threat and limited personal protective equipment, the coronavirus pandemic forced healthcare providers to deliver medical care at a distance. Many turned to technology — specifically telemedicine — to do so.
Preview Screening & Discussion
Nebraska Public Media and NOVA presented an exploration of the science and data behind cannabis on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. The event featured excerpts from the NOVA film, The Cannabis Question. Our experts discussed its medical and agricultural possibilities and the history of cannabis laws and why they have disproportionately impacted communities of color. The event featured:
- Sarah Holt, writer, producer, and director of The Cannabis Question
- Yasmin Hurd, PhD, Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and Director of the Addiction Institute, Mount Sinai
- Kelly K. Dineen, JD, PhD, Associate Professor of Law & Director, Health Law Program, Creighton University
- Andrea Holmes, BS, MS, PhD, Professor of Chemistry and Director of Cannabis Studies, Doane University
- Dennis Kellogg, Nebraska Public Media News Director (moderator)
If you missed the panel, you can watch it without the clips from The Cannabis Question, below:
Sponsors
Cannabis in Nebraska: Medicine, Agriculture & the Law is presented by Nebraska Public Media and NOVA. Major funding for The Cannabis Question and the Science & Society Project is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and others.
Funding for NOVA is provided by the David H. Koch Fund for Science, the NOVA Science Trust, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Community Partners
Special thanks to our community partners for this event: Dr. Kelly Dineen, Creighton University School of Law's Health Law Program; Dr. Andrea Holmes, Doane University's Cannabis Studies Department; Inclusive Communities; Dr. Concetta DiRusso, Kennebec Analytical Services; Dr. Allan Jenkins, Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska at Kearney Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics; Dr. Ally Dering-Anderson, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; and Dr. Ismail Dweikat, University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Department of Agronomy and Horticulture.