The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission has approved emergency regulations to begin accepting medical cannabis applications. The emergency regulations largely mirror a legislative proposal that lawmakers stalled last month. The regulations will be in place for up to 90 days.
Legislative Bill 677, which fell 10 votes short of the 33 votes needed to change a voter-approved law last month, 23–22, would have provided additional guardrails around the ballot measures that voters overwhelmingly approved in November. Up to 30 dispensaries would have been allowed under that bill, with a limit of up to 10 in each congressional district.
Under the emergency regulations, no more than one dispensary would be allowed in each of the state’s 12 District Court Judicial Districts. Douglas County (Omaha) and Lancaster County (Lincoln) are the only counties that occupy a single district.
No dispensary can be located within 1,000 feet of any school, daycare, church, or hospital. At least 51 percent of an applicant’s business or organization must be based in Nebraska, and the applicant must be a U.S. citizen for at least the past four years. Applicants also would need to pay to submit two legible sets of fingerprints to the FBI and the Nebraska State Patrol for a criminal background check.
The emergency regulations require a recommendation (from any provider nationwide) specifying the product being recommended, the recommended dosage and potency, the number of doses, the directions for use, and the patient’s name.
The regulations allow dispensaries to sell:
- Oral tablets, capsules, or tinctures.
- Non-sugarcoated gelatinous cubes, gelatinous rectangular cuboids, or lozenges in a cube or rectangular cuboid shape.
- Gels, oils, creams, or other topical preparations
- Suppositories.
- Transdermal patches.
- Liquids or oils for administration using a nebulizer or inhaler.
Dispensaries could not sell raw plant or flower, food, or drinks with cannabis infused into them (edibles), any products containing artificial or natural flavoring or coloring, or any products administered by smoking, combustion, or vaping. Packaging would need to be able to show if it had been tampered with, be child-resistant, resealable, and protected from contamination.
Similar to the 2024 restrictions on vaping products, cannabis products could not depict cartoon-like fictional characters or mimic characters primarily aimed at entertaining minors, trademarks or trade dress, or products that imitate or mimic products mainly marketed to minors, symbols primarily used to market products to minors, or the images and likenesses of celebrities.
The eventual formal regulations the commission advances this summer must include at least 30 days’ notice of what’s being considered before a public hearing. The commission set its next meeting for 1 p.m. on August 4th, with a location to be determined. If there are no meetings before then, the likely public hearing on the more lasting regulations would be in September.
If your bank is considering jumping into the cannabis banking realm, CCI can help inform your Board of Directors of regulatory requirements. Call to schedule your Board of Directors training today or to speak with CCI’s Cannabis Banking Professional.
Steve Doty, CRCM, CBP