LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – Fifteen Nebraska sheriffs — including those from Douglas, Sarpy, and Lancaster counties — signed a letter Wednesday to the Speaker of the Legislature from the state Attorney General voicing opposition to pending legislation that moves Nebraska toward legalized medical marijuana.
The letter was also signed by the presidents of the Police Chief Association of Nebraska and the Nebraska Sheriff’s Association. It suggests that the legislation under consideration this session is dangerous and doesn’t strictly adhere to what voters approved last fall.
“This bill is an extraordinary expansion of marijuana into public life in Nebraska,” AG Mike Hilgers’ letter states.
While casting doubt on the legality of the medical marijuana measures put in front of voters in November, the letter alleges that AM1251 and LB677 “will supercharge the black market for marijuana and create a whole new generation of drug dealers.”
Medical marijuana advocates called Hilgers’ letter “hypocrisy.”
“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,” Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said in an email response Wednesday.
But Hilgers maintains in his letter to Speaker John Arch that the legislation currently under consideration by the Unicam “would push marijuana into nearly every nook and cranny of publiclife in Nebraska.”
Calling the amendment “vague lip service” to the regulatory structure laid out on November ballots, the AG’s letter criticized the amendment’s lack of a ban on THC vaping and pointed out an inconsistency between a ban on smoking marijuana and the allowance for posessing marijuana flowers. Lawmakers debated that very issue last week, arriving at a compromise to allow such marijuana flower consumables of up to 2 ounces — but only if it’s be vaporized, not smoked.
“AM1251 is nothing more than a recreational marijuana system disguised as a ‘medicinal’ system,” the letter states.
“If this bill passes, it will be an uphill battle for law enforcement officers who are trying to keep impaired drivers off our roads. It will blur the lines between those who are using marijuana recreationally and driving under the influence and those who have marijuana for medicinal purposes in their vehicles,” Douglas County Chief Deputy Sheriff said in a Wednesday news release from the AG’s office.
Sarpy County Sheriff Greg London said the amendment will establish a “framework for full-blown recreational marijuana. This will empower those who break the law and remove power from law enforcement.”
Hilgers’ letter again mentions a lack of peer-reviewed research on the medical benefits of marijuana — something state leaders have pointed to for years while advocates worked to get medical marijuana in front of voters.
However, JAMA published a study two years ago assessing the impact of cannabis on general health in more than 3,100 patients, noting “improvements were largely sustained over time.” Years earlier, JAMA also conducted an investigation into the correlation between medical cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality rates, finding that states with legalized marijuana had significantly lower overdose death rates. Additionally, the Mayo Clinic notes that “cannabidiol can be used for certain forms of epilepsy.”
The letter also raises concerns about a lack of medical oversight at the patient level or even the state level, lamenting that the head of the state Liquor Control Commission would have to “moonlight” as the head of the Medical Cannabis Commission despite not having a medical background.
Additionally, the AG’s letter notes the absence of any sort of process by which registrations — which he argues could be “rubber-stamped” by out-of-state practitioners without any sort of actual examination occurring — could be expired or revoked.
Hilgers also expresses concern that existing smoke shops could be grandfathered in, making them exempt from any restrictions on proximity to schools; and that the legislation lacks any sort of accountability for medical marijuana practioners. He also suggests that schools could be put at risk “of claims” if they attempt to restrict use or possession on school grounds.
The letter also maintains that “AM1251 would unravel two years of work fighting the synthetic Delta-8 crisis in Nebraska. These products are poisoning Nebraskans and have led to mental health breaks and hospitalizations.”
In recent years, Hilgers’ office has been working with law enforcement to crack down on stores all over the state that sell synthetic THC.
“These products are poisoning Nebraskans and have led to mental health breaks and hospitalizations,” Wednesday’s letter states.
In March, authorities targeted 104 stores in Omaha. Last September, the AG’s office filed lawsuits against three Norfolk businesses that were selling THC products in stores throughout eastern Nebraska. Nearly a year earlier, Hilgers’ office filed 10 consumer protection lawsuits in counties across the state in an effort to crack down on “deceptive” THC products.
Read NMM’s full statement
“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.”
Read the AG’s letter
Watch Wednesday’s news conference
Alongside several Nebraska county sheriffs, the state AG talked concerns law enforcement have about pending medical marijuana legislation.
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Fifteen Nebraska sheriffs signed a letter Wednesday to the Speaker of the Legislature from the state Attorney General urging them to vote down pending legislation that moves Nebraska toward legalization of medical marijuana. Read More
