Lincoln, NE — Attorney General Mike Hilgers, alongside law enforcement officials, voiced strong opposition to a medical marijuana bill currently under legislative consideration.
Despite 70% of Nebraska voters supporting medical marijuana usage in a November vote, the bill, introduced by Senator Ben Hansen as LB677, failed to advance out of committee. However, an amendment, AM1251, has been proposed for floor debate.
Hilgers criticized the amendment, stating, “This amendment, which is 124 pages, and I would encourage all of you to read it, I have spent hours looking through this, I’ve had at least half a dozen lawyers looking through this, and the issues presented in this amendment are far-reaching and dangerous for the state of Nebraska.”
He further argued that allowing the sale of marijuana flower while expecting it not to be smoked is unrealistic.
“That is like saying you can buy the beer, you can bring the beer home, you can put the beer in your fridge, but whatever you do don’t drink the beer. This opens up a gigantic loophole for smoking marijuana, which is recreational marijuana,” Hilgers said.
Hilgers also expressed concerns about the amendment’s provisions for medical prescriptions, noting that some ailments listed for treatment are vague and that the amendment provides civil and criminal protections for healthcare professionals, with no revocation allowed for patients’ medical cards.
“It doesn’t matter. They could say they view the patient and sign off on it, when in fact they didn’t. They could say ‘oh this person has chronic pain’ when in fact they never actually saw the patient at all or did a competent medical evaluation,” he said.
This legislative debate coincides with Hilgers’ ongoing lawsuit against synthetic THC.
“I think it will undercut our case. If we go to the Nebraska Supreme Court, and they could say ‘yeah Attorney General Hilgers we agree with you, but the legislatures passed the bill,’ it makes our job a lot more difficult in what we think should be a fair fight in front of the Nebraska Supreme Court,” Hilgers said.
Hilgers has sent a letter to Speaker John Arch summarizing his concerns, with signatures from law enforcement officials.
Crista Eggers, Executive Director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, sent a statement in response to Hilgers.
“There is no greater hypocrisy than Attorney General Hilgers urging the Legislature to respect the will of the voters—after actively working to undermine it at the ballot box, in the courts, and within the Legislature itself. Attorney General Hilgers’ continued legal challenges and now attempts to manipulate the legislature are among the primary reasons why Nebraskans still lack—and may continue to be denied—legal access to safe, regulated medical cannabis. Our fight remains as it always has: as a voice for Nebraska patients—real people in our communities who are suffering. As long as patients like Will, Jayen, Kyler, Colton, and countless others are suffering, you have our unwavering commitment: We will never stop fighting,” Eggers said.
