GOP Senator Dodges Question About Nebraska’s Exclusion From Medical Marijuana Protections At Federal Level

“I’ll note at the federal level that marijuana is still a controlled substance.”

By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner

U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., sidestepped a question Wednesday about whether he would support adding Nebraska to a congressional list protecting state medical cannabis laws from federal interference after Congress left the state off the latest update in January.

Ricketts, speaking on his weekly press call Wednesday, said he isn’t on the Senate Appropriations Committee, so he didn’t know why Nebraska was left off a list that currently covers 47 states. The other two not included are Kansas and Idaho, which lack medical cannabis programs. Other states on the list have less expansive laws than Nebraska voters approved in 2024.

“I didn’t find out about it until it was raised in the press,” Ricketts said.

U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., is a member of Appropriations. Her staff did not return multiple requests for comment on the issue in February and again on Wednesday.

Since 2014, Congress has prevented the U.S. Department of Justice and related agencies from using federal dollars to interfere with state medical marijuana programs.

But despite Nebraskans approving two ballot measures to legalize and regulate the new medicine, national and state medical cannabis advocates say the Cornhusker State became the first not to be added in the dozen years since Congress first passed the provision as part of a spending bill.

Nebraska voters legalized possession of up to 5 ounces of cannabis with a health care practitioner’s recommendation and created the regulatory Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission.

In February, Ricketts said he has “consistently expressed concern over the dangers of marijuana, especially for our youth” but respects “the will of Nebraskans and the process of the ballot amendments.”

“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,” Ricketts said February 16.

His staff did not respond at the time to a follow-up question about whether Ricketts specifically opposed adding Nebraska to the federal list, as some advocates have alleged.

President Donald Trump has called to downgrade the federal drug classification of marijuana, which could provide a path to more research or medicinal opportunities. Ricketts opposes the change.

Asked by the Examiner on Wednesday whether Ricketts would support adding Nebraska to the federal medical cannabis noninterference list, he said his views on marijuana are “very clear.”

“Whatever we’re doing needs to be following within the law,” said Ricketts, who, as a senator, can seek to change federal laws. “I’ll note at the federal level that marijuana is still a controlled substance.”

This story was first published by Nebraska Examiner.

Photo courtesy of Max Jackson.