The first medical cannabis harvest in Nebraska, where voters legalized MMJ in 2024, could be ready by October at the earliest, one of the state’s cultivators said this week.
But with no manufacturers or dispensaries permitted yet – and no patients registered, according to the Nebraska Examiner – it’s far from certain when Nebraska medical marijuana sales will begin.
Lawmakers have floated a vague date of spring 2027 for the first sale, according to the Examiner.
But advocates are skeptical after the state Legislature killed a separate proposal that would have protected physicians who recommended cannabis to their patients from prosecution.
Without those legal protections, it’s unclear whether any doctors will sign up to recommend cannabis through a state-run commission, advocates told the Examiner.
When do Nebraska medical cannabis sales start?
Voters overwhelmingly backed a pair of state ballot initiatives legalizing MMJ in November 2024.
But since then, repeated roadblocks have appeared – some of them created by elected officials, in the state capitol and in Washington.
These include Nebraska’s mysterious omission from a list of states where the federal Justice Department is forbidden from pursuing enforcement against state-licensed cannabis operators.
Cannabis advocates also say that state officials who opposed MMJ are discouraging participation in the program.
Last fall, under pressure from Gov. Jim Pillen, the state Medical Cannabis Commission limited cultivators to no more than 1,250 plants, one of the strictest canopy limits in the country.
And for the supply chain to be fully built out, Pillen, who’s been openly critical of medical cannabis, must approve regulations the commission sent him Monday, Nebraska Public Media reported.
What cannabis licenses are available in Nebraska?
Under state law, business opportunities are strictly limited to:
- Four cultivators
- Four product manufacturers
- 12 dispensaries
Patients are forbidden from obtaining or possessing raw cannabis. Cannabis edibles, as well as cannabis that can be smoked or vaporized, are illegal.
The state Medical Cannabis Commission on Monday granted a variance to one of the state’s four licensed cultivators, according to the Examiner.
That means the first crop could be ready by October. Without it, the first harvest would have had to wait until 2027, a representative of the cultivator told the Examiner.
In the meantime, the commission has yet to license any manufacturers, without which raw cannabis can’t be processed into a saleable form. And it can’t be until Pillen acts.
