‘Things Aren’t Going Well’: Marijuana Supporters Lament State of Legalization
by John Gage
LINCOLN – Nebraska for Medical Marijuana (NMM) held a town hall Monday night, where they discussed the state of legalization in Nebraska. The Lincoln town hall was the fifth held by NMM within the past week. The group said they are frustrated with where things stand regarding the legal status of marijuana in the state.
“They continue, and they continue, and they continue,” NMM Executive Director Crista Eggers said regarding the legal challenges medical marijuana is facing in the state. “We are waiting for a decision on the signature case on appeal.” She added that the group was “522 days into litigation on this.”
Eggers spent the town hall going through a timeline of events showing the efforts NMM had gone through to try to get medical marijuana legalized through both the Legislature and by ballot initiative, as well as the current legal and political challenges the group is facing.
Eggers Upset at Cannabis Commission
Eggers spent a large portion of the town hall complaining about the state of the Medical Cannabis Commission. The commission established last year contains members of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission as well as two additional gubernatorial appointments.
Eggers lamented that Governor Jim Pillen would end up appointing the whole commission after multiple members of the Liquor Control Commission resigned.
“Things are not going well,” she said. “Never did we think that when we wrote our ballot language, and gave it to this commission and allowed two new commissioners, that we would see our governor, who at every step of the way has stood in the way of progress on this, would have all five appointments on this commission.”
Eggers expressed disappointment at how slow the commission has operated as well as the commission’s regulations, which limited the use of cannabis to oral tablets, capsules, or tinctures; non-sugarcoated gelatinous cubes; topical preparations; suppositories; transdermal patches; and liquids or oils for administration using a nebulizer or inhaler.
The commission’s regulations banned the use of cannabis in food or drink, as well as the sale of raw flower and any products that allowed smoking or vaping of cannabis. Eggers claimed that “99 percent” of the public is against what the commission has done to date.
“The biggest concern from patients, from caregivers, from law enforcement, from medical practitioners, from the industry themselves, is that the commission has set up a program that is doomed to fail,” she said.
Is Marijuana Even Legal?
During the Q&A portion of the town hall, one attendee, who described themselves as a medical cannabis patient, asked Eggers if it was even legal to possess cannabis in Nebraska. Eggers said that under Initiative 437, Nebraskans can possess up to five ounces, but acknowledged that the legal status of lawsuits and political opposition means no one can be sure what will happen if they are stopped by law enforcement.
“We don’t know what will happen if a patient is pulled over and they have medical cannabis,” she said. “You should not be a criminal, but we do not know what is happening. We know that law enforcement hasn’t been given any guidance. They don’t know what’s happening. We don’t know if they are going to take your medicine, if they are going to arrest you.”
“This has been designed at every step of the way to fail,” she added.
Eggers mentioned at the town hall that Nebraska was left off a recent congressional medical cannabis protection list that prohibits the Department of Justice from interfering with state medical marijuana programs.
The list, which has been passed and updated each year by Congress since 2014, includes 47 states. Nebraska, Idaho, and Kansas are the three states not on the list.
“Nebraska is left yet again in a gray area. Could the federal government come in and interfere?” Eggers said. “We don’t know, but we don’t have protections.”
Osborn Crashes Town Hall
Dan Osborn, an independent running for U.S. Senate, attended the town hall where he used the Q&A portion of the town hall to spread an online conspiracy theory about his opponent, Senator Pete Ricketts.
“Are you aware that the Ricketts family spent millions of dollars in donation to the University of Florida for Ben Sasse to be president?” Osborn claimed. Eggers appeared uncomfortable with the question and told Osborn, “Should we let the crowd say yes or no? I think maybe that is more appropriate.”
An audience member pushed back against Osborn’s claim, saying he looked into it and could not find any evidence of the rumor being true.
The Plains Sentinel reached out to the Ricketts campaign for comment on Osborn’s statement. Spokesman Will Coup said the attack was a “new low” for Osborn.
“Spreading lies about a respected Nebraska leader living with a terminal cancer diagnosis is a new low, even for Dan Osborn,” Coup said, adding Osborn was “trying to distract Nebraska voters from Osborn’s ties to Jeffry Epstein associate Dana Chasin won’t work. His desperation is giving way to ridiculous conspiracy theories, as Senator Ricketts was in no way involved with a hiring decision at the University of Florida.”
John Gage is the Executive Editor of The Plains Sentinel.
