Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed emergency regulations on June 29 to regulate a commercial medical cannabis marketplace following a pair of legalization measures backed by more than two-thirds of voters in the November 2024 election.

Under Measure 438, to establish a regulatory framework under the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission (NMCC), state regulators had until July 1 to adopt industry regulations and are now tasked with awarding business licenses by October 2025.

The NMCC sent Pillen the emergency regulations, which are effective for 90 days, after commissioners approved them during their June 26 meeting in Omaha. The commission needed the emergency rules in place before it could start accepting and reviewing applications from aspiring business entrepreneurs wishing to dispense, manufacture, cultivate or transport medical cannabis.

A separate voter-approved measure protects medical cannabis patients and their caregivers from criminal charges and prosecution by legalizing up to 5 ounces of medical cannabis for those with a written recommendation from a health care practitioner. But a licensed marketplace would provide those patients access to products that are tested for public health and safety.

“Failure to do so would force Nebraskans to seek medical cannabis or similar products from unregulated and potentially harmful sources,” NMCC Chairperson Monico Oldenburg wrote in a June 26 letter to Pillen. “The inability to obtain medical cannabis from a Nebraska regulated establishment relates to the health, safety or welfare of Nebraska residents.”

With the emergency rules set to expire on Sept. 25, the commission plans to engage in a formal rulemaking process for permanent regulations in the coming weeks. This includes the NMCC accepting public comments on the emergency regulations through July 15. Industry stakeholders and interested parties can submit feedback to [email protected].

Also during the June 26 meeting, the NMCC entered into an agreement with the governor’s Policy and Research Office and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, which will provide commissioners with legal and administrative services during the formal rulemaking process.

Under the emergency rules, vertical licensing is not permitted, and no more than one dispensary license can be issued in any of the state’s 11 judicial districts. Five of the districts have 10 or more counties. In addition, dispensaries and cultivation and manufacturing facilities cannot be located within 1,000 feet of schools, day cares, churches or hospitals.

To be eligible for licensure, a company or enterprise must be at least 51% owned by a person(s) who has been a Nebraska resident for at least four preceding years and a U.S. citizen. Also, licenses will not be available to convicted felons or those with a controlled substances-related offense within the preceding 10 years.

All licenses are non-transferable and can be renewed every two years as long as a registered cannabis establishment has remained active.

Aligning with the 2024 voter-approved measures, licensed businesses cannot sell an amount of cannabis that would result in a qualified patient or caregiver possessing more than 5 ounces of cannabis.

Allowable products under the emergency regulations include:

• oral tablets, capsules or tinctures;
• non-sugarcoated gelatinous cubes, gelatinous rectangular cuboids, or lozenges in a cube or rectangular cuboid shape;
• gels, oils, creams or other topicals;
• suppositories;
• transdermal patches; or
• liquids or oils for administration using a nebulizer or inhaler.

Meanwhile, raw plant material, such as flower, shake, trim and pre-rolls, or any other product administered by smoking, combustion, or vaping, would be prohibited under the NMCC’s proposed rules. A food or drink that has cannabis baked, mixed or otherwise infused into it would also be banned.

In addition, intoxicating hemp-based products or cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC would be forbidden.

Under the emergency regulations, licensed dispensaries must keep sales invoices or receipts for at least seven days, including names and addresses of purchases, date of sale, item and quantity sold, and the cost, as well as daily inventory records. Cultivators, manufacturers and transporters must keep similar records.

Packaging must protect cannabis products from contamination, be tamper-evident, and include labeling that includes the licensed manufacturer and its contact number or website address, the date of manufacture, and an expiration date. Labels must also include the following statements in capitalized letters:

• Schedule I Controlled Substance
• Keep out of reach of children and animals
• For medical use by qualified patients only
• The intoxicating effects of this product may be delayed
• This product may impair the ability to drive or operate machinery, please use extreme caution
• It is illegal to transfer medical cannabis to another person.

Dispensaries would also be responsible for providing patients and caregivers with the list of all ingredients in a product, the batch or lot number, instructions for intake, the amount of THC in milligrams per dose and per container, and the unique manufacturer license and registration numbers for products.

The emergency rules prohibit packaging that depicts cartoon-like fictional characters; contains trademarks, trade dress or symbols that imitate or mimic products that have been primarily marketed to minors; or includes images or likenesses of celebrities.

The commission or its employees would be allowed to conduct unannounced on-site inspections under the proposed rules.

The NMCC adopted the emergency rules two days after Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Republican state Sen. John Kuehn seeking to block the state’s implementation of the voter-approved measure.

Meanwhile, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers’ office has threatened to sue should the NMCC start issuing licenses, the Nebraska Examinerreported.