LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – A state lawmaker is formally challenging regulations from the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission that he says “override the clearly expressed will of Nebraska voters.”
A Thursday complaint led by State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, a lawyer, narrows in on a handful of issues Cavanaugh cites in emergency regulations passed by the commission this summer. Commissioners hope to make the regulations final and have scheduled a 1 p.m. public hearing at the Nebraska State Office Building in Lincoln on Oct. 15 to receive feedback.
Among Cavanaugh’s complaints are that the regulations would:
- Restrict the availability of medical cannabis products that could be sold at licensed dispensaries to a narrow list, while the law has no restrictions.
- Only allow in-state health care practitioners to recommend medical cannabis, while voters approved allowing any physician to do so.
- Prohibit smoking or vaping of medical cannabis, while the law expressly allows any device used for vaporization or inhalation.
“All without the benefit of a public hearing or public scrutiny, the commission and the governor have chosen to override the clearly expressed will of Nebraska voters,” Cavanaugh wrote to State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, chair of the Legislature’s Executive Board…