“Leaving the cultivators with no limits would increase [the] “Overabundance in cannabis products can lead to an unregulated and unintended supply of black market marijuana.”
By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner
Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission is limiting the number of flowering plants that can be grown at a time by cultivators. This limit was requested by the Governor.
Gov. Jim Pillen (R), in a Thursday letter to the five-member commission, said while he appreciated commissioners’ work to “ensure the cannabis industry is properly regulated,” he would not sign new emergency regulations the commission approved September 2 without the group setting a limit on how many plants cannabis cultivators grow.
“Leaving the cultivators with no limits would increase [the] Pillen writes that there is a “high probability of an excess of cannabis products creating an unregulated and unintended supply on the black market.”
He added, “If plant population limitations for allowed cultivators are included in the proposal emergency regulations that go into effect,” he would support.
The commission announced last week that it will only license four cultivators of medical marijuana. The first round of cultivator applications meeting the new regulations are due by September 23. By October 1, licensing must commence.
Placeholder limits expanded
Bo Botelho (general counsel of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, which advises the Medical Cannabis Commission in accordance with an inter-agency arrangement) provided a draft as a starting point for its discussion.
DHHS had previously opposed the use of medical marijuana, so advocates sought to move the Medical Cannabis Commission somewhere else, namely the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. They ultimately gained voter approval.
Botelho noted that Missouri has plant restrictions, and he began by working backwards from there. He also pointed out that the neighboring Missouri grows plants both for medicinal purposes and as recreational items. He proposed a much more stringent limit than allowed in the neighboring Show-Me State.
He proposed that the placeholder limit be:
- Indoor facilities: 200 flowering plants.
- Outdoor facilities: 500 flowering plants.
- The greenhouse can accommodate 300 different flowering plants.
- Combination of three different types: 200 flowers.
Botelho stated that the numbers he came up with were not based on any math. “I put in some numbers to begin with.”
Bruce Bailey, the Lincoln County Commissioner, led an effort to raise the allowed number of plants. He said that some plants could be destroyed by crop failure, while others may not pass the new testing standards of the commission. Bailey wanted to ensure that Nebraska patients would have enough medicine.
According to The Marijuana Policy Project’s data, the Marijuana Policy Project reports that four states bordering Nebraska have medical cannabis programs. Residents in these states use them at a rate of 0.55 per cent, Colorado is 1.05 per cent, South Dakota is 1.26percent, and Missouri has 1.95percent.
Bailey, along with other commissioners, worked to reach approximately 20,000 Nebraskans, which is 1 percent of Nebraska’s population.
Meeting patient demand
Commissar Lorelle Mueting, of Gretna and an addiction prevention specialist at Heartland Family Service said Nebraska might also not have “20,000 patients right off the bat.” She joined Commissioner Kim Lowe, of Kearney in expressing an intention to revisit the numbers.
Mueting stated that she did research in the short time that existed between Pillen’s decision to not sign up and Monday’s “emergency” meeting of the Commission. She found that 2,300 indoor plants could produce enough tinctures to treat 2300 patients per year.
“I don’t know how all this translates into plants, because, again…how much flower a plant can produce depends on how it’s grown, how it’s cultivated,” Mueting said.
Bailey, rather than setting specific limits, proposed a 1,250-plant limit for all facilities. This would allow for a maximum of four cultivators to be active at the same time, with two expected harvests per year, meeting the goal of 10,000 plants.
Crista E. Eggers, Executive Director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (the nonprofit organization that spearheaded the successful petition campaign 2024), said that the commission would “starve” an existing program even before its start.
She said, “On your hand will be the blood that the patients of this state have shed.”
Lia Post, a Springfield woman with complex regional pain syndrome, urged again the Commission to treat her as a patient, along with other Nebraskans.
Post explained that his illness is not affected by the state in which he lives. Post said, “I’ll use marijuana instead of opioids, benzodiazepines, sedatives, or ketamine. If the only thing offensive I can say is to call you idiots, or to curse at you, then freedom of expression has been stifled in Nebraska.”
Next, the Medical Cannabis Commission will meet at 1 pm on 30 September.
What does the new medical marijuana emergency regulation mean?
The new set of regulations for emergency medical marijuana would take effect on September 28 if it is approved. The new regulations will be valid for another 90-days.
Nebraska’s low-THC program would be a part of the latest rules, which include a “Recommending Directory for Health Care Professionals”.
In accordance with the new regulations, caregivers or patients could buy up to five ounces, about 142g, of medical cannabis within a 30 day period. Within a 90 day period, the patient could only purchase 5 grams delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol. Delta-9 THC in cannabis is most closely associated with the “high.”
The amended regulations would maintain a limit of up to 12 medical cannabis dispensaries statewide arranged by judicial district. That would mean one dispensary each in Douglas County (584,526 residents), Lancaster County (322,608 residents), Sarpy/Cass Counties (217,202 residents) and Buffalo/Hall Counties (112,979 residents), according to 2020 census data.
Dispensaries will still be prohibited from selling edibles and smoking products. The revised rules do not allow the sale of gelatinous cubes that aren’t sugar-coated. The sale of oral tablets with “a thin layer” flavoring that makes the product swallowable will now be permitted.
According to current laws, any patient or caregiver who is qualified and has received a prescription from a health practitioner may legally possess 5 ounces (or less) of medical marijuana in any form. However, no licenses are yet issued in Nebraska. Cannabis can therefore not be legally purchased.
Nebraska Examiner published this article first.
Side Pocket Images. Image courtesy Chris Wallis.