Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission Imposes Plant Limits on Cultivators at Governor’s Request

The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission, at the behest of Gov. Jim Pillen (R), has set limits on the number of plants that licensed cultivators are allowed to grow. During an emergency meeting on Monday, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission (NMCC) placed limits on the number of plants licensed cultivators could grow, Nebraska Public Media reports. The move came in response to a request from Gov. Jim Pillen (R) who refused to sign newly approved regulations without the limit in place. 

In a letter to the commission, Pillen said he was withholding his signature on the regulations because he wanted the NMCC to “strengthen” the regulations “by implementing a limit on the number of plants a cannabis cultivator is permitted to grow.”  

“Leaving the cultivators without a limit would increase likelihood of an overabundance of cannabis product that creates an unregulated, unintended black-market supply. If an inclusion of plant population limits for permitted cultivators can be included, I will support the remainder of the proposed emergency regulations to go into effect.” — Pillen, in the letter 

The commission subsequently placed a limit of 1,250 flowering plants at any given time for each licensed cultivator, of which there are four permitted under state law.    

Crista Eggers, the executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, which backed the campaign to enact the reforms, told Nebraska Public Radio that the number is inadequate. 

“What we’ve seen in states across the nation, when you too narrowly restrict the cannabis product or the ability for people to grow it or manufacture it or to sell it on the shelves in the dispensary, we unfortunately see the black market just skyrocket,” she said. 

Pillen has not yet signed the amended regulations, so it’s unclear whether the 1,250-plant limit will be acceptable.