The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission declined to make any changes to its draft cannabis regulations at its meeting Monday afternoon.

The commission received 590 public comments as part of a public hearing for the regulations on Oct. 15.

Commission Chair Dr. Monica Oldenburg said many of the comments didn’t include specific recommendations for changes to the regulations, but those that did fell into six general categories.

The recommendation categories were:

– Allowing additional forms of cannabis to include flower, raw plant, vaping, smoking and edibles

– Increasing the number of licensed cannabis facilities

– Removing or modifying restrictions on recommending practitioners, such as allowing out-of-state practitioners and removing the in-person visit and practitioner education requirements

– Increasing plant counts for cultivators

– Allowing refills on cannabis products without an additional recommendation from a physician

– Increasing the THC potency cap and the quantity of cannabis.

The commission voted unanimously to keep the regulations as written in each of the six categories.

Commissioner Lorelle Mueting said the commission doesn’t make medical decisions based on popular vote.

“We make medical decisions based on science and research, and although 71% of Nebraskans voted for medical cannabis, we still owe it to them to provide it in a medical form that’s not going to do more harm than good,” she said during discussion on whether to allow for smoking and vaping.

Commissioner J. Michael Coffey did hint at the possibility of expanding limits on plants and cultivators in the future, but voted against any changes to the current regulations.

“If there is more demand, we can change it, we can up it,” he said. “This isn’t cast in stone, but we are starting from zero, and we think we’re doing the best we can to get this program up and running.”

Commissioners planned to invite the two licensed cultivators to their January meeting to speak on their progress and use the information to determine a timeline for accepting and granting licenses for transporters. Discussion on manufacturer licenses was tabled until December and dispensary licenses were tabled until January.

The commission also heard appeals from the two cultivator applicants whose applications were not approved due to low scores, including one from Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana Executive Director Crista Eggers.

Eggers said she received conflicting information on whether a minority owner could be a part of two separate cultivator applications, leading her to submit an application with just herself, as opposed to what she considered to be a stronger application with a minority owner.

She also questioned the disparity in her application’s ratings, which ranged from 11 to 72 out of 100.

“It’s a 61-point spread, and it’s really hard to statistically explain how that is possible,” she said. “I believe it’s evidence of a system with a lack of oversight, and it brings into question what was being graded.”

Eggers requested that an application with a minority owner be considered.

The reconsideration of Eggers’ application – along with an application from Casey Sledge with Stonepine Works LLC – will be brought up for a vote at the next scheduled commission meeting on Dec. 2.