LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – State senators with the General Affairs Committee held an interim study at the Capitol Friday morning, to hear more about how the implementation of medical cannabis is going in Nebraska.

Invited testifiers included advocates like Crista Eggers, as well as several doctors and marijuana experts. Despite invitations from Sen. John Cavanaugh, members of Nebraska’s medical cannabis commission were notably absent.

Testifiers said the rollout of medical cannabis in Nebraska has been an burdened by setbacks, partisan politics and a disregard for the will of the people. Many said that the current Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission, which they add still doesn’t have proper funding, has not made the drug accessible to Nebraskans.

“I wish I was here today to thank you all for your role in implementing the will of the voters,” Eggers said. ”But unfortunately, I’m here to speak about utter failure.”

Eggers said last session’s LB 677, which would have provided a legal framework for implementing medical cannabis, was the result of “immense work and compromise.”

“Warnings were given of what would happen if the commission was left to act,” she said. “Ironically most everything that is failing today with this commission could’ve been avoided.”

Dr. Amanda McKinney, a triple board certified physician from Beatrice, said her main concern with the current regulations put forth by the commission is the banning of raw flower.

“These regulations are, at best, unnecessary, and their implementation would undermine the medical cannabis program that they would likely be ineffectual or fail outright.”

McKinney also introduced herself as an expert on medical cannabis, based on her authorship of peer reviewed articles and book chapters on the topic, as well as teaching courses on medical cannabis at three different universities and to practicing physicians.

She said not allowing flower for smoking or vaping is detrimental to treating certain conditions like pain or anxiety, where relief is needed quickly.

“In an emergency situation where you have somebody having a seizure, you can actually help them vaporize the cannabis as well,” McKinney said.

Dr. McKinney also spoke to the ongoing dialogue about marijuana use in the United States. She said the drug’s effectiveness for certain patients with minimal negative outcomes, especially when compared with other medicines, are often drowned out by rhetoric from corporate interests and a history of propaganda.

“There’s a culture of fear around marijuana, but it’s largely blown out of proportion,” she said. ”The amount of kerfuffle over this plant is insane, honestly.”

Some senators on the committee, including Sens. DeKay, Andersen, Storm and Chairperson Rick Holdcroft, pushed back against criticism, saying what’s been implemented so far has been exactly what Nebraskans voted for. They also argued that any form of smoking marijuana should be considered recreational use, not medical.

Sen. Storm added that the reason for the slow pace in putting forth regulations and licensing cultivators and dispensaries has been so the commission can “get it correct.”

Sen. Cavanaugh, who introduced the interim study back in May, said the goal was to check in on how implementation was going after the commission began promulgating regulations over the summer. He says now, he’s filing a complaint against the commission for “overstepping their bounds.”

“They are making it more restrictive than they should, which violates the spirit of the law, and they are creating restrictions they do not have the power to create, which is a violation of the letter of the law.”

Cavanaugh said his concerns stem from certain regulations the commission put forth, such as limiting how much cannabis an individual can possess or what recommendations medical professionals can make, both of which were set in statute with the passing of the initiatives.

Cavanaugh also asked the rest of the General Affairs Committee to send the commission a letter to answer questions and address his concerns.

The committee will also take all the information gathered on record Friday into consideration as they draft bills for next session.

Click here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Copyright 2025 KOLN. All rights reserved.