Nebraskan’s for Medical Marijuana hold fifth town hall within a week to discuss delays

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana held a town hall on Monday, making it their fifth town hall within a week, thanks to the state tour they are on, aiming to unite supporters of medicinal marijuana.

The town hall reviewed the group’s grassroots efforts over the past few years to form a cannabis committee and pass legislation.

Despite progress through the years, the group announced that the state of Nebraska was left out of the CSJ committee, which helps protect states that promote the legalization of medicinal cannabis, against the federal government.

“We saw no delegates say my state’s not included, hold on,” said Crista Eggers, the executive director of the nonprofit.

Eggers says the President has already signed the updated 2026 document, despite Nebraska’s exclusion.

Nevertheless, she says the group will keep charging forward and reflect on various turning points in their journey.

For example, on Dec. 12, 2024, Gov. Jim Pillen signed the voter-approved medical cannabis initiatives into law: Measure 437 legalizing medicinal cannabis and Initiative 438 establishing a commission to regulate medical marijuana.

However, Eggers says, “Each year, we’ve taken feedback on why a bill wouldn’t pass, and slowly trying to come up with something workable, and year after year we walked away with nothing.”

She also highlights the group’s work, including incorporating the correct ballot language and collecting over 100,000 raw signatures.

The town hall also addressed ongoing roadblocks and legal challenges the movement has faced, including those related to the cannabis commission.

The group says they welcomed the liquor commission’s involvement in the new regulatory cannabis commission; however, over time, members of that commission have been leaving one by one.

Additional concerns came from the audience.

One woman asking, “Isn’t this costing a lot of money?”

Eggers says the short answer is yes, but the presentation implied that lawmakers are less concerned about the delays.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers said, “This is not about the will of the people.”

Another audience member referenced an interaction he had with Governor Pillen.

“I asked him about what my son will do, and he looked at me like he didn’t know what I was talking about.”

Sen. Pete Ricketts is making the following statement: “I respect the will of Nebraskans and the process of the ballot amendments.”

He added, “If Nebraska’s laws are at odds with federal laws, a process will have to play out, and I will continue to express my concern for the risks of marijuana if it gets into the hands of kids.”

Eggers says that the cost of these delays is human pain; those awaiting medicinal marijuana prescriptions in the state.