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A Nebraska lawmaker said he intends to bring a bill implementing a citizen-enacted medical cannabis law to the floor this session, but what that legislation will ultimately look like remains unclear. Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue told the General Affairs Committee he wanted to narrow a bill (LB677) introduced by Sen.
Ben Hansen of Blair this year to carry out the provisions of two ballot initiatives passed by voters last November . Holdcroft "We're going to get something out of committee, but I think we should make it as tight as possible and then allow the floor to bring amendments," Holdcroft told the Journal Star. "But I would like to start with a tight bill.
" It could also result in a prolonged fight on the floor. Twice in the past week state lawmakers have sparred over the Legislature's role in enacting laws that change voter-passed initiatives. People are also reading.
.. Hansen's bill, as introduced, would allow doctors, physician assistants or nurse practitioners to recommend cannabis to patients using their professional judgment to determine that individual has a "qualifying medical condition.
" The bill also has provisions regulating how those patients can access up to 5 ounces of cannabis, creates a regulatory framework for various entities in the cannabis industry, mandates routine safety testing and imposes a sales tax, directing the revenue into property tax relief. During an executive session Wednesday afternoon, Holdcroft said he would seek an amendment requiring health care professionals who recommend cannabis to their patients be licensed and practicing in Nebraska. Holdcroft also said he believed the list of conditions for qualifying patients to be recommended cannabis was too broad under Hansen's bill, adding he would prefer the committee set a list of six conditions before advancing the bill.
That would be less than Iowa, which allows for patients with 11 different "debilitating medical conditions" to possess and use cannabis, including cancer patients with severe or chronic pain, nausea or wasting syndrome; multiple sclerosis; epilepsy; or other ailments. Other states have laws allowing more than 40 different conditions to be considered, including for ailments like Alzheimer's disease, hepatitis C, menstrual cramping, sleep apnea and tinnitus. The most common conditions included in medical cannabis laws, according to a handout shared by Holdcroft, include: cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, glaucoma and ALS.
Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said the bill brought by Hansen implements the language of both Initiative 437 and Initiative 438, both of which were supported by roughly seven out of 10 voters last fall. Lawmakers had their chance over the past decade to pass a bill with limited medical conditions included, Eggers said, but did not act, leaving it up to the grassroots campaign to conduct a petition drive. "This is what the people passed," Eggers said.
"They did not pass a watered-down bill. The people knew what they voted for; they were not misled, they did not misunderstand things." Eggers said Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and other advocates worked with Hansen to draft LB677, which she said included reasonable regulations designed around ensuring patients could access cannabis in a safe, legal way, while also protecting the broader public.
That included allowing qualifying patients to smoke cannabis in their homes, Eggers said. For cancer patients with wasting syndrome, smoking may be the only way they can consume cannabis, she added. Holdcroft asked the committee to consider adopting an amendment from Sen.
Jared Storm of David City limiting cannabis consumption to pills or liquid tinctures — something Eggers said was a nonstarter. "This legislation doesn't need to touch and shouldn't touch who is a patient, who that practitioner should be or how that patient consumes that medicine, which is what it is," Eggers said. "We really thought what most people would want is putting some safeguards in place that make sense, and we tried in good faith to work together.
" The committee took no vote on Wednesday, Day 55 of the 90-day legislative session, but members indicated they were split on Holdcroft's proposal. Sen. Dan Quick of Grand Island said he supported Hansen's original bill and thought the Legislature should avoid prescribing methods Nebraskans can use to ingest medical cannabis.
District 35 Dan Quick Grand Island Elected 2024 402-471-2617 [email protected] "If they want to smoke it, I'm on board with all of that," Quick said.
Sen. Stan Clouse of Kearney said he still held reservations about LB677 and was still seeking the answers on how some parts would work in practice, but said he was optimistic the committee would find a solution that worked. Stan Clouse In particular, Clouse said he believed the word "inhale" included in the initiative did not necessarily allow for patients to smoke cannabis.
He also said he wanted to ensure the regulatory commission had expanded membership to include doctors, pharmacists, law enforcement and someone from the cannabis industry. "We're just trying to navigate the strong opinions on both sides of this issue to see if we can meet in the middle," Clouse said. "It was voted on, so we also can't ever ignore that fact.
" Hansen, the bill's sponsor, said the Legislature had to balance several interests, many of them often in competition. The ballot initiative sponsors envisioned one set of qualifying conditions, voters may have envisioned something broader or smaller, and individual lawmakers may have all foreseen something different, he said. "Everybody has this idea of what kind of conditions should be included," Hansen said.
"Whatever we find has to be something we can all say yes to — or at least 33 people can say yes to." Hansen said he hopes the disagreements over LB677 can be worked out during the General Affairs Committee's deliberations in order for a "clean" bill to be advanced, rather than allow the bill to be subject to a filibuster on the floor. "I think that's what's happening now," he said.
Meet Nebraska state senators making laws in 2025 District 49 Bob Andersen Omaha Elected 2024 402-471-2725 [email protected] District 14 John Arch La Vista Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2730 jarch@leg.
ne.gov District 18 Christy Armendariz Omaha Elected 2022 402-471-2618 [email protected].
gov District 21 Beau Ballard Lincoln Appointed 2023, elected 2024 402-471-2673 [email protected] District 25 Carolyn Bosn Lincoln Appointed 2023, elected 2024 402-471-2731 cbosn@leg.
ne.gov District 29 Eliot Bostar Lincoln Elected 2020, 2024 402-471-2734 [email protected].
gov District 32 Tom Brandt Plymouth Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2711 [email protected] District 9 John Cavanaugh Omaha Elected 2020, 2024 402-471-2723 jcavanaugh@leg.
ne.gov District 6 Machaela Cavanaugh Omaha Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2714 [email protected].
gov District 2 Robert Clements Elmwood Appt. 2017, elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2613 [email protected].
gov District 37 Stanley Clouse Kearney Elected 2024 402-471-2726 [email protected] District 46 Danielle Conrad Lincoln Elected 2022 402-471-2720 dconrad@leg.
ne.gov District 10 Wendy DeBoer Bennington Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2718 [email protected].
gov District 40 Barry DeKay Niobrara Elected 2022 402-471-2801 [email protected] District 30 Myron Dorn Adams Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2620 mdorn@leg.
ne.gov District 19 Robert Dover Norfolk Appointed 2022, elected 2024 402-471-2929 [email protected].
gov District 26 George Dungan Lincoln Elected 2022 402-471-2610 [email protected] District 20 John Fredrickson Omaha Elected 2022 402-471-2622 jfredrickson@leg.
ne.gov District 7 Dunixi Guereca Omaha Elected 2024 402-471-2721 [email protected].
gov District 1 Bob Hallstrom Syracuse Elected 2024 402-471-2733 [email protected] District 16 Ben Hansen Blair Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2728 bhansen@leg.
ne.gov District 48 Brian Hardin Gering Elected 2022 402-471-2802 [email protected].
gov District 36 Rick Holdcroft Bellevue Elected 2022 402-471-2642 [email protected] District 24 Jana Hughes Seward Elected 2022 402-471-2756 jhughes@leg.
ne.gov District 8 Megan Hunt Omaha Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2722 [email protected].
gov District 44 Teresa Ibach Sumner Elected 2022 402-471-2805 [email protected] District 42 Mike Jacobson North Platte Appt.
2022, elected 2022 402-471-2729 [email protected] District 5 Margo Juarez Omaha Elected 2024 402-471-2710 mjuarez@leg.
ne.gov District 31 Kathleen Kauth Omaha Appt. 2022, elected 2022, 2024 402-471-2327 kkauth@leg.
ne.gov District 34 Loren Lippincott Central City Elected 2022 402-471-2630 [email protected].
gov District 33 Dan Lonowski Hastings Elected 2024 402-471-2712 [email protected] District 41 Dan McKeon Amherst Elected 2024 402-471-2885 dmckeon@leg.
ne.gov District 11 Terrell McKinney Omaha Elected 2020, 2024 402-471-2612 [email protected].
gov District 17 Glen Meyer Pender Elected 2024 402-471-2716 [email protected] District 22 Mike Moser Columbus Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2715 mmoser@leg.
ne.gov District 38 Dave Murman Glenvil Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2732 [email protected].
gov District 27 Jason Prokop Lincoln Elected 2024 402-471-2632 [email protected] District 35 Dan Quick Grand Island Elected 2024 402-471-2617 dquick@leg.
ne.gov District 28 Jane Raybould Lincoln Elected 2022 402-471-2633 [email protected].
gov District 12 Merv Riepe Ralston Elected 2022 402-471-2623 [email protected] District 3 Victor Rountree Bellevue Elected 2024 402-471-2627 vrountree@leg.
ne.gov District 45 Rita Sanders Bellevue Elected 2020, 2024 402-471-2615 [email protected].
gov District 39 Tony Sorrentino Elkhorn Elected 2024 402-471-2885 [email protected] District 13 Ashlei Spivey Omaha Elected 2024 402-471-2727 aspivey@leg.
ne.gov District 43 Tanya Storer Whitman Elected 2024 402-471-2628 [email protected].
gov District 23 Jared Storm David City Elected 2024 402-471-2719 [email protected] District 47 Paul Strommen Sidney Elected 2024 402-471-2616 pstrommen@leg.
ne.gov District 4 R. Brad von Gillern Elkhorn Elected 2022 402-471-2621 bvongillern@leg.
ne.gov District 15 Dave Wordekemper Fremont Elected 2024 402-471-2625 [email protected].
gov Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or [email protected] . On Bluesky @chrisdunker.
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