Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who’s earned a reputation as staunchly anti-cannabis, is sniffing around a Colorado cannabis company that operates a retail location near the state border for still unknown reasons.
Peak North Holdings, the operator of Peak Dispensary in Sedgwick, Colorado, filed a petition in Nebraska state court earlier this month resisting a demand and subpoena filed by Hilgers on Sept. 1, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
Sedgwick is less than a half-hour drive from the Nebraska border.
Border towns, especially those near states without adult-use cannabis access, typically enjoy robust sales.
But recently, law enforcement in states such as Indiana have taken a harder approach towards cannabis purchased legally in other states that crosses borders.
Why is Nebraska investigating a Colorado cannabis company?
According to Peak attorney John Cartier, Hilgers made “sweeping demands” for Peak company documents, including:
- Details around current and past company employees, including residential addresses
- Advertising materials from the retail location
- Research and marketing materials around cannabis’ effects
It’s not known what Hilgers is asking for. Hilgers’ office declined to comment to the newspaper.
Cartier’s filing indicates that Hilgers did not identify any law that Peak is allegedly violating.
Possibilities include an allegedly unfair or deceptive act, an antitrust violation or some other violation of Nebraska state law, Cartier said, according to the newspaper.
Cartier said that only one Peak employee lives in Nebraska, and conducts no legal cannabis business outside of Colorado, the newspaper reported.
Can other states investigate legal cannabis operators?
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This isn’t the first time Colorado cannabis has drawn attention from law enforcement in neighboring states.
Shortly after Colorado cannabis sales began in 2014, attorneys general from Nebraska and Oklahoma attempted to convince the Supreme Court to overturn adult-use legalization in the state, claiming that legal retail sales led to an increase in cannabis crossing state lines.
Nebraska has also consistently opposed broader cannabis reform. The state was one of several granted participation in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration hearings over federal marijuana rescheduling.
And Hilgers himself has repeatedly attempted to stand in the way of cannabis reform.
The attorney general was involved in a failed attempt to undo a ballot initiative that legalized medical marijuana in Nebraska in 2024.
While sales haven’t launched yet nearly two years later, Nebraska medical cannabis is slowly advancing, with the first legal cultivator given permission in June to begin operations.
Hilgers also reportedly told Cartier that his main job as AG is “to stop the spread of cannabis in the state of Nebraska.”
