Cannabis in Nebraska

According to the USDA, the first crop of industrial hemp in Nebraska was grown in Fremont in 1887 by men from Champaign, Illinois.{{cite book|author=U.S. Department of Agriculture|title=Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture|url=https://archive.org/details/yearbookuniteds03agrigoog|year=1914|page=[https://archive.org/details/yearbookuniteds03agrigoog/page/n344 293]}}

Amidst an early 20th century trend of limiting the drug, Nebraska first restricted cannabis in 1927.{{cite book|author=Richard Davenport-Hines|title=The Pursuit of Oblivion: A Social History of Drugs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mus3AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT126|date=29 November 2012|publisher=Orion Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-78022-542-5|pages=126–}}

In 1969, Nebraska eased penalties for cannabis possession in the state, limiting the penalty for first-time possession to no more than 7 days in jail.{{cite book|author=Chester Nelson Mitchell|title=The Drug Solution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4wQMhGIAh5cC&pg=PA122|year=1990|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP|isbn=978-0-88629-116-7|pages=122–}} Marijuana was decriminalized to a civil infraction for first-time offenders in 1978 or 1979.{{cite book|author=F. LaMond Tullis|title=Handbook of Research on the Illicit Drug Traffic: Socioeconomic and Political Consequences|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofresear0000tull|url-access=registration|date=1 January 1991|publisher=Greenwood|isbn=978-0-313-27846-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofresear0000tull/page/535 535]}}

Testimony given by Nebraska prosecutors and local law enforcement officials before the Nebraska Legislature Judiciary Committee in 2014 showed the different counties in Nebraska respond to marijuana in significantly differing ways. Some county attorneys and sheriffs take an approach emphasizing strict enforcement, while others take an approach that deemphasizes prosecution for minor offenses.Bill Kelly, [http://netnebraska.org/article/news/938774/how-tough-nebraska-pot-possession-depends-county How Tough is Nebraska on Pot Possession? Depends on the County], Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (September 18, 2014).

In 2013 and 2014, after the neighboring state of Colorado legalized the use of marijuana, the marijuana arrest rate in Nebraska increased by 11 percent. The amount spent by Nebraska to enforce its marijuana laws also increased by 11 percent (to an estimated $10.2 million). Most of the increase in arrests and enforcement spent came in western Nebraska (the "Nebraska Panhandle") next to the Colorado border, and particularly along Interstate 80 which traverses the entire state. Experts expressed uncertainty whether the spike was caused by the change in Colorado law, by increased enforcement by Nebraska police, or some combination of factors.Riley Johnson, [http://journalstar.com/news/local/911/marijuana-arrests-up-in-nebraska-after-colorado-made-pot-legal/article_6b4490bf-7d6f-57da-a445-f88e3e804eb0.html Marijuana arrests up in Nebraska after Colorado made pot legal, but experts can't pinpoint why], Lincoln Journal Star (September 20, 2016).

In December 2014, Nebraska and Oklahoma sought permission from the Supreme Court of the United States to file an original action against the State of Colorado, asking to Court to strike down Colorado's legalization of cannabis.{{cite web|author=John Ingold|url=http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_27163543/nebraska-and-oklahoma-sue-colorado-over-marijuana-legalization|title=Nebraska and Oklahoma sue Colorado over marijuana legalization|work=Denver Post|date=December 18, 2014}}[http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/nebraska-and-oklahoma-v-colorado/ Nebraska and Oklahoma v. Colorado], SCOTUSblog'' (motion for leave to file a bill of complaint denied on March 21, 2016). Nebraska and Oklahoma argued that it had resulted in a spillover of cannabis activity into their states, and thus increasing enforcement expenses and social harm. They argued that the Colorado legislation was "preempted by federal law, and therefore unconstitutional and unenforceable under the Supremacy Clause."

In March 2016, the Court denied Nebraska and Oklahoma's request to proceed with its suit. Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, dissented, writing that they would have heard the claim against Colorado.Richard Wolf & Trevor Hughes, [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/03/21/marijuana-lawsuit-colorado-oklahoma-nebraska-supreme-court/81984006/ Justices won't hear Nebraska, Oklahoma marijuana dispute with Colorado], USA Today (March 21, 2016).

In 2015, LB643, the "Cannabis Compassion and Care Act," was proposed in the unicameral state legislature. The legislation would have allowed certain patients with prescriptions to use marijuana in liquid or pill form (but not smoked leaf form) for medical purposes. Patients would only be eligible if they suffered from certain serious illnesses, such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis C. Following an initial 27–12 vote in favor, the bill's sponsor, Senator Tommy Garrett of Bellevue requested the bill be held until 2016, due to conflicting priorities as the senators dealt with the fallout from the legislature's 2015 prohibition of capital punishment.{{cite web|url=http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Medical-Marijuana-Scrapped-For-Now-in-Nebraska-305204651.html|title=Medical Marijuana Scrapped For Now in Nebraska|publisher=WOWT}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thecannabist.co/2015/01/21/legal-pot-nebraska-lawmakers-introduce-medical-marijuana-bill/28425/|title=Legal pot in Nebraska? Medical marijuana bill introduced|work=The Cannabist}}

In 2016 the bill was blocked by a Senate filibuster, falling three votes short of the number failed to advance. The bill encountered the "stiff opposition" of Governor Pete Ricketts and Attorney General Doug Peterson.{{cite web|author=Anna Gronewold|url=http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2016/04/06/medical-marijuana-bill-fails-nebraska/82693392/ |title=Medical marijuana bill fails in Nebraska |agency=Associated Press|date=April 6, 2016}}

A medical cannabis ballot measure was invalidated by the Nebraska Supreme Court for containing more than one question.{{Cite web|url=https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/nebraska-supreme-court-bars-medical-marijuana-question-from-november-ballot/article_7d64f62c-7887-517d-931f-36046281708c.html|title = Nebraska Supreme Court bars medical marijuana question from November ballot}}

On November 5th, 2024, measures 437 and 438 were both approved by voters initially legalizing medical use, but the validity of both of these measures are being challenged by opponents and the measures could potentially be overturned pending a decision by lawmakers.

Former Republican state senator and State Board of Health member John Kuehn sued the campaign that put medical cannabis on the ballot over the validity of the signatures it had collected. Current Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) and Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) both filed court documents contesting the legitimacy of almost 49,000 signatures on the two petitions. They said that more than half involved “notary malfeasance.” Evnen requested that the court ascertain the exact number of legitimate signatures and void the results if there aren't enough.{{Cite web |last=Moment |first=Marijuana |date=2024-10-08 |title=Nebraska Medical Marijuana Initiative Sponsors Push Back Against State Officials’ Signature Fraud Claims |url=https://www.marijuanamoment.net/nebraska-medical-marijuana-initiative-sponsors-push-back-against-state-officials-signature-fraud-claims/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=Marijuana Moment |language=en-US}} The lawsuit was resolved on December 11, 2024, when Lancaster County District Court Judge Susan Strong ruled she would not issue an injunction, allowing the law to go into effect on December 12.{{cite news|title=Judge rejects lawsuit filed to block Nebraska medical marijuana initiatives from becoming law|author= Brian Mastre|publisher=WOWT|location=Omaha|via=MSN|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/judge-rejects-lawsuit-filed-to-block-nebraska-medical-marijuana-initiatives-from-becoming-law/ar-AA1vGREk}}

The ballot measures legalized the sale and possession of up to 5 ounces of cannabis for medical use, and established a Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission as the state regulatory agency.{{cite news|title=Follow marijuana election results across Florida, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota|author1=James Powel|author2=Greta Cross|author3=Julia Gomez|newspaper=USA TODAY|via=MSN|date=November 6, 2024|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/follow-marijuana-election-results-across-florida-nebraska-south-dakota-north-dakota/ar-AA1tAqL5}} These measures would not legalize the cultivation of cannabis.

File:Marijuana, Buffalo County, Nebraska, 2017-06-15.jpg]]

Nebraska is noted for the presence of feral hemp plants, low in psychoactive THC and generally known as "ditch weed" (or more rarely "Nebraska Nonsense").{{cite book|author=Martin A. Lee|title=Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana - Medical, Recreational and Scientific|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8XE-AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA416|date=13 August 2013|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-4391-0261-9|pages=416–}} A 1987 study noted that 12.4 million cannabis plants were eradicated in Nebraska annually.{{cite book|title=Domestic Cannabis Eradication Suppression Program|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r47aAAAAMAAJ|year=1987|publisher=The Section|page=3}} Hemp researcher David West recommended that farmers store feral hemp seed prior to legalization, in hopes of rebuilding a stock of landrace strain of indigenous cannabis.{{cite book|author=Doug Fine|title=Hemp Bound: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Next Agricultural Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U7XqAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR11|year=2014|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|isbn=978-1-60358-543-9|pages=11–}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|author=United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Crime|title=Crime in America--views on Marijuana: Hearings ..., 91-1, Pursuant to H. Res. 17 ... Oct. 14, 15, 1969|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rqazN6mfhu8C|year=1970|pages=20–21}}
• {{cite book|title=Historical Review of Two Nebraska Marijuana Bills|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rk3InQEACAAJ|year=1972|last1 = Baum|first1 = Barbara Ely}}
• Gallieher, J. R. "Nebraska's Marijuana Law: A Case of Unexpected Legislative Innovation." Law and Society Review 8 (1974): 441-55
• {{cite book|author=David L. Suggs|title=A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of the Impact of Nebraska's Decriminalization of Marijuana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yo9KywAACAAJ|year=1980|publisher=University of Nebraska--Lincoln.}}

{{Cannabis in the United States}}

Nebraska

Category:Nebraska law