The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission will not meet its Oct. 1 deadline to begin granting registrations for marijuana cultivators.

During its meeting Tuesday, commission chair Dr. Monica Oldenburg said the commission’s evaluation team was unable to provide recommendations for licensure after two of its members resigned.

Earlier this week, Commissioners Bruce Bailey and Kim Lowe resigned from their positions on the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission at the request of Gov. Jim Pillen. That also meant losing their roles on the Medical Cannabis Commission, which includes the Liquor Control Commission members.

Both commissioners served under former Liquor Control Commission executive director Hobert Rupe, who was suspended without pay in May and taken into federal custody last week, facing charges of honest services fraud, wire fraud and extortion by a public official.

Bailey and Lowe were two of the three cannabis commissioners on the evaluation team, which was tasked with reviewing and scoring cultivation applications. Without them, Oldenburg said the application scores were unable to be averaged and a new evaluation team would need to be created. All three remaining members of the commission designated themselves as the new evaluation team.

During public comment, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana director Crista Eggers expressed her frustration with the process.

“Rather than upholding the law, you have chosen to rewrite them, stripping patients of rights guaranteed to them, imposing barriers the law does not permit, and possibly ignoring deadlines that you are legally bound to meet,” she said.

According to state statute that took effect after voters approved medical cannabis ballot initiatives in 2024, the commission shall, “No later than October 1, 2025, begin granting registrations to applicants that meet eligibility standards and other requirements established by the commission.”

One commenter called on the remaining commission members to resign.

“Resign as an act of integrity to show that you won’t be complicit and you won’t be used as political cover,” said Dominic Gillen, who said he’s been advocating for medical cannabis for his son for 14 years. “Resigning shines a light on the deception of those who put you here, and when the public asks, who stayed silent, who refused to be part of the lie, what will they find?”

The commission will meet again next Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. to review applications and award licenses.