Lincoln, NE: State lawmakers killed legislation (LB 677) that sought to provide a regulatory framework for the production and dispensing of medical cannabis. Some 70 percent of Nebraskans approved a pair of ballot measures in November legalizing the use of medical cannabis by authorized patients.
Despite that public support, lawmakers filibustered the measure – which sought to facilitate the law’s implementation while also imposing various changes to its provisions. The failure of the bill will likely delay patients’ ability to access cannabis products. Regulations governing the law will now be left to members of a yet-to-be-appointed commission.
Numerous elected officials, including Republican Attorney General Mike Hilgers and U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts, have publicly opposed adopting the voter-approved law, and the AG is asking the state’s Supreme Court to nullify the election result.
Additional information is available from Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana.