Nebraska Senator Files Formal Complaint Over Emergency Medical Cannabis Regulations

In his October 2 filing to Senator Ben Hansen, chair of the Legislature’s Executive Board, Cavanaugh contends that the commission has exceeded its statutory authority and undermined the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Patient Protection Act and the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act, both approved by voters in November 2024. The complaint highlights several issues with the emergency rules, including limits on medical cannabis forms, restrictions on physician recommendations, and dosage caps not authorized by statute. Cavanaugh notes that the commission confined allowable cannabis products to a narrow list—such as tablets, capsules, tinctures, topicals, suppositories, patches, and inhaler oils—despite the law defining cannabis broadly to include all forms. He also points out that the commission restricted medical recommendations to Nebraska-based practitioners, despite the ballot measure explicitly allowing recommendations from providers licensed in any state.

Perhaps most striking, the regulations impose a five-gram limit over a 90-day period—equal to less than one-fortieth of the five ounces allowed by law. Cavanaugh argues this restriction would make it nearly impossible for patients to legally obtain sufficient medicine, saying it would take seven years for a patient to reach the maximum legal possession limit under the statute.

The senator also criticized the process itself, noting that the commission missed statutory deadlines, bypassed required public hearings by using emergency rulemaking, and adopted rules largely drafted at the governor’s direction. He warned that this lack of compliance exposes the state to legal challenges and risks nullification in the courts.

Cavanaugh said the cumulative effect of the rules is to deliberately restrict patient access and make it impracticable for businesses to operate, despite overwhelming voter support for medical cannabis. He urged the Legislature’s General Affairs Committee to hold a hearing on the matter later this month, alongside his interim study resolution LR226.

If the complaint moves forward, it could open the door to legislative or judicial intervention in Nebraska’s newly established medical cannabis framework—one that voters approved less than a year ago but which now faces significant obstacles in implementation.