Federal appropriations language prohibiting the Justice Department from interfering in jurisdictions with state-authorized medical cannabis access does not include language protecting Nebraskans, despite voters’ 2024 decision legalizing it.
The federal appropriations rider, versions of which have been approved by Congress annually since 2014, omits any reference to Nebraska. The amendment forbids the Department of Justice from spending any money on efforts to prosecute patients or providers who are compliant with their state’s medical cannabis laws.
Advocates have publicly expressed concerns that the absence was not an oversight. They note that US Senator Pete Ricketts, along with state Attorney General Mike Hilgers, have publicly urged state legislators to reject Nebraska’s voter-approved law. (Ricketts received a ‘F’ grade from NORML’s Smoke the Vote; he has previously opined, “If you legalize marijuana, you’re gonna kill your kids.”) Local lawmakers and regulators also recently enacted emergency rules repealing various aspects of the law, including patients’ access to botanical preparations of cannabis.
“For over a decade, top state officials alongside Senator Pete Ricketts have fought medical cannabis at every turn, and now he and Nebraska’s entire federal delegation have allowed our state to be excluded from critical protections,” said Crista Eggars, Executive Director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana. “Voters made their mandate clear in 2024, and now Nebraskans have been left vulnerable because their leaders refuse to respect it.”
NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano echoed Eggars’ sentiments. “Nebraskans decided overwhelmingly in favor of regulating medical cannabis access. Yet far too many of their state and federally elected officials have responded with either indifference or outright hostility. Whether or not one personally supports or opposes cannabis legalization, these efforts to subvert the will of the people are deeply disturbing.”
Forty-seven states, including some jurisdictions without traditional medical marijuana access laws, are listed in the latest version of the Congressional appropriations rider.
Additional information is available from Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana.
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