LINCOLN — After the Trump administration federally downgraded medical marijuana to a less dangerous classification of drug on Thursday, Nebraska federal and state representatives remained largely noncommittal.

Advocates, meanwhile, said the move means the “last prohibitionist talking point has collapsed.”

“Nebraska officials can still oppose medical cannabis out of stubbornness, but they can no longer hide behind the claim that the federal government says cannabis has no accepted medical use. That excuse is gone,” said John Cartier, attorney general for the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, which is moving forward with its own medical cannabis program, separate from the State of Nebraska.

On Thursday, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche immediately downgraded state-licensed and U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved marijuana products to Schedule III.

Schedule I drugs, such as heroin, LSD, ecstasy and peyote, are drugs the federal government has classified with a high likelihood of abuse and no currently accepted medical value. Schedule III drugs are defined as those with moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence, such as Tylenol with codeine, ketamine and testosterone.

“This rescheduling action allows for research on the safety and efficacy of this substance, ultimately providing patients with better care and doctors with more reliable information,” Blanche said in a Thursday statement.

The DOJ said Thursday’s move recognized the “longstanding regulation of medical marijuana by state governments and the need for a commonsense approach to this reality.”

Ricketts, Pillen, Bacon respond

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who decided not to seek reelection this year, told the Nebraska Examiner he supports the reclassification, “as it is necessary to allow for further research.”

“Schedule I classification restricts the ability of scientists and doctors to conduct proper research into marijuana in a way that is counterproductive,” Bacon said. “As long as individual state laws regarding legality are not preempted, I support this move by the administration.”

Some Nebraska leaders have long opposed marijuana and steps under former President Joe Biden or President Donald Trump to move the drug from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act.

For instance, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., made national headlines in 2021 when the former Nebraska governor said: “If you legalize marijuana, you’re gonna kill your kids.” 

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration states that no deaths from overdoses of marijuana have ever been reported.

In response to Thursday’s changes, Ricketts told the Examiner: “From the time I was governor, my stance on this issue has been clear. I remain committed to combatting the growing public health and safety threat marijuana poses.” He did not specify how he might respond.

Ricketts and U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., in separate congressional letters in mid-December, urged Trump not to move forward with the change.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers have also spoken against rescheduling marijuana on the state side. Pillen said the federal change “does not alter the ongoing regulatory process to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska” and that the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission would continue its work.

“My goal is to honor Nebraska’s vote, while putting safeguards into place to prevent unregulated or unintended marijuana production,” Pillen said in a statement. “We will continue to engage with our federal partners as the process evolves.”

Trump has endorsed Pillen, Ricketts, Hilgers and Flood, as well as U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., for reelection this fall.

Nebraska AG’s Office ‘currently reviewing’

Hilgers led 10 other states in 2024 in a letter opposing similar marijuana rescheduling that had started under Biden but hadn’t finished before Trump returned in 2025. Other state attorneys general joining Hilgers were from Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, South Carolina and South Dakota.

Trump has made clear he hopes to finish the rescheduling process this time, with the DEA moving forward with a new public comment period to move marijuana generally from Schedule I to Schedule III, beginning June 29.

“DEA is expeditiously moving forward with the administrative hearing process — bringing consistency and oversight to an area that has lacked both,” DEA Administrator Terry Cole said Thursday. “Our men and women in law enforcement remain committed to fighting drug cartels, the fentanyl epidemic and protecting American lives.”

In response to Thursday’s changes, Suzanne Gage, a spokesperson for Hilgers, told the Nebraska Examiner: “Our office is currently reviewing.”

In a Dec. 19 interview with the Examiner, one day after Trump signed an executive order to expedite and move forward with rescheduling, Pillen said he disagreed with Trump’s decision. Pillen said keeping marijuana Schedule I “is really important in my view of the world.”

“That stuff is a Schedule I drug, and it’s a Schedule I drug in my mind until the whole legislative process changes,” Pillen said at the time.

Pillen has couched his position on marijuana as a former veterinarian, a profession he says has more pharmacological studies than any other health care provider. He said marijuana is a Schedule I drug “for a reason” and would always oppose recreational marijuana.

“We’re following the law, but it’s not going to come in a way that there can be any abuse and have any opening of a black market for recreational marijuana,” Pillen said in December. “Long as I’m your governor, that’s where it’s going to be.”

Congressional reaction

Besides Ricketts and Bacon, spokespersons for Flood, Smith and U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., did not immediately respond Thursday when asked for their reaction to the latest Trump administrative move on rescheduling.

Fischer has still not answered why, as a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Nebraska was not added to a congressional list prohibiting the federal government, such as the DOJ or DEA, from interfering with state medical cannabis laws.

Since 2014, states have been added to the list each year largely without issue. Today, 47 states are protected. No member of Nebraska’s federal delegation has explained why Nebraska’s voter-approved law was not included.

Ricketts and Bacon said they didn’t find out Nebraska was left off in the January update until reporters reached out. 

“I am for states having the lead when it comes to cannabis policies and prefer the federal government stay away,” Bacon said in February.

Ricketts has said he wasn’t a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a nod to Fischer. When asked whether he would support adding Nebraska, Ricketts sidestepped a reporter’s question.

“Whatever we’re doing needs to be following within the law,” said Ricketts, who, as a U.S. senator, can seek to change federal laws, in a March 4 press call. “I’ll note at the federal level that marijuana is still a controlled substance.”

State regulations moving forward

In November 2024, an overwhelming majority of Nebraska voters legalized the possession of up to 5 ounces of medical cannabis with a health care practitioner’s recommendation. Voters also created the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission, a governor-appointed regulatory board, to oversee the state supply chain.

The four state medical cannabis commissioners did not respond when asked for comment Thursday on the rescheduling changes.

To date, there are no licensed state dispensaries to sell products that would be downgraded under the Trump-Blanche decision, but the commission has crafted regulations toward that goal. Some Nebraskans have gone to surrounding states in the meantime.

State regulations for the drug are now sitting in Hilgers’ office. Gage said last week that the “standard process” for reviewing and signing off on regulations would be followed. She did not respond to a follow-up question about whether Hilgers’ continued opposition to the drug and questions around the 2024 petition drive might impact his review.

Hilgers’ office has suggested it could challenge Nebraska’s laws on preemption grounds, basically arguing that Nebraska can’t legalize marijuana because of federal law on the drug. Those actions have not yet materialized.

A former state senator tried to make similar arguments in district court, but the trial judge dismissed the case last year. Hilgers’ office defended state officials while the Medical Cannabis Commission obtained outside legal counsel, with those attorneys asking for the case to be dropped. 

The former senator’s case has been appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court and heads to oral arguments Monday. 

It’s unclear what Thursday’s changes might mean for Hilgers’ opposition. Multiple national groups supportive of marijuana said they expect the DOJ changes might be challenged.

Marijuana is also shaping up as an election issue in Nebraska, with cross-partisan opponents to Ricketts, Flood, Hilgers, Pillen and others leaning into medical cannabis as an election issue.

Former State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont, the Democratic frontrunner challenging Pillen’s reelection, praised the Trump administration’s announcement Thursday: “I’ve heard it in every community I’ve visited across the state. The will of the voters should be upheld and listened to. This is a step in the right direction, especially for patients that are waiting for access.”

‘A personal and political choice’

Cartier said state leaders shouldn’t treat the Omaha Tribe’s lawful program as a threat or question tribal sovereignty. The Omaha Tribe is now reviewing prospective proposals received under a national request and seeking to vet the “right partner.”

The Omaha Tribe, Cartier said, aims to be a “regional leader in providing safe, lawful access and meaningful relief to thousands of patients.”

Hilgers previously called medical cannabis “poison” and told Nebraskans that if they went to the Omaha Tribe to buy marijuana, as many have said they would, they do so “at their own peril.” 

Crista Eggers of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, the organization that led the successful 2024 campaign, said opponents had long “hidden” behind the federal classification as “political cover” to justify delay, obstruction and inaction as patients suffered and families waited.”

Most Nebraska legislative efforts around medical cannabis have stalled, including one Eggers and other supporters said was critical this month to protecting health care providers who recommend the drug to patients.

“From this point forward, any continued delay, obstruction, or attack on medical cannabis is exactly what it is: a personal and a political choice. A deliberate decision to stand in the way of patients and the will of the voters,” Eggers said Thursday.

She continued: “If Nebraska officials continue standing in the way, they should at least be honest enough to admit they are doing it because they want to, not because they have to.”