Nebraska Cannabis Information Portal

What is the State of Marijuana in Nebraska?

The use of marijuana for medical purposes was legalized in Nebraska in December 2024, but recreational marijuana remains illegal. Previously, the state has decriminalized the possession of small amounts (up to 1 ounce) of cannabis. At least two prior efforts, in 2015 and November 3, 2020, ballot initiative, failed to get medical cannabis legalized in the state. The successful 2024 effort was not without opposition too.

At the November 2024 ballot, Nebraska voters approved Measures 437 and 438 to prompt the legalization of medical marijuana in the state. Measure 437 proposed the legalization of up to 5 ounces of medical marijuana for individuals with written recommendations from licensed and eligible healthcare practitioners in the state. It passed with 71% of the vote. Measure 438 proposed the regulation of medical cannabis sales, distribution, and manufacturing. It also established the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission. It received 67% voter approval at the poll. However, opponents of cannabis legalization in Nebraska sued to contest the validity of signatures putting both measures on the ballot. A District Court judge ruled against this opposition on December 11 allowing medical cannabis legalization to become law on December 12, 2024. Even then, the push to invalidate the ballot results was escalated to the Nebraska Supreme Court.

If the Nebraska medical cannabis legislation survives at the Supreme Court, the newly established Medical Cannabis Commission must establish rules for licensing medical marijuana businesses by July 1, 2025 and begin licensing these businesses no later than October 1, 2025.

How Has Marijuana Affected the Nebraska Economy?

Nebraska has only recently legalized medical marijuana and the first sales will likely occur in the last quarter of 2025. Hence, the state's economy is yet to benefit from legalized cannabis. However, when recreational marijuana is legalized in Nebraska, it will widen the state's tax revenue net. The government will be able to impose a tax on the sale of cannabis products and save citizens' tax currently being spent on marijuana ban enforcement. For instance, in 2014, Nebraska was reported to have spent at least $10.2 million on cannabis prohibition enforcement, an 11.6% increase from what was expended in 2013.

The Tax Foundation projects a potential excise tax revenue of about $35 million from marijuana when Nebraska fully legalizes cannabis. The Foundation arrived at this figure by considering the average excise tax revenues from marijuana by states with at least a three-year-old cannabis market.

What is the Marijuana Crime Rate in Nebraska?

Nebraska's marijuana possession arrests have been substantially higher than the number of cannabis sales/manufacture arrests made by law enforcement agencies over the years. Based on the arrest data provided to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), marijuana arrests accounted for 43% of Nebraska's total drug-related arrests reported to the FBI in 2018. The number of arrests reported for marijuana sales was 217, while 4,867 arrests were reportedly made for cannabis possession. In 2019, law enforcement in Nebraska reported 5,309 cannabis possession arrests and 261 marijuana sales arrests. The percentage of marijuana sales and possession arrests was 21% of the state's total drug-related arrests.

While it declined between 2018 and 2019, the percentage of marijuana sales and possession arrests of all drug-related arrests in Nebraska increased to 37% in 2020. According to reports, 58 arrests were made for marijuana sales, while 1,773 were made for cannabis possession. In 2021, the reported number of marijuana-related arrests further increased, with 3,932 possession arrests and 153 cannabis sales arrests. In 2022, there were 4,001 arrests for marijuana possession and 121 illegal sales arrests in the state. These figures dipped slightly in 2023 with 3,843 and 80 arrests for marijuana possession and sales consecutively. It is expected that marijuana arrest figures will continue to drop in Nebraska when the legal sales of medical cannabis commences in the state.

What is the History of Nebraska Marijuana?

Nebraska first decriminalized the first-time possession offense of up to 1 ounce of marijuana in 1979. The state has a history of numerous failed attempts to legalize medical marijuana. In 2020, a Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative which would have legalized medical cannabis was removed from that year's ballot. The initiative sought to permit physicians to recommend marijuana to patients with certain debilitating conditions and allow such patients to buy and possess cannabis for medical purposes. It would have also allowed them to cultivate cannabis for personal use.

Having gathered over the required 121,669 signatures and set to appear on the 2020 ballot, Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court, praying the court strikes the initiative from the November 2020 ballot. The sheriff took this step after failing to convince the Nebraska Secretary of State to keep the initiative off the ballot. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the sheriff, and the Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative was struck out of the 2020 ballot.

In 2022, attempts by medical cannabis legalization advocates who sought to put a pair of medical cannabis access proposals before voters also failed. They were unable to gather the needed signatures to place the proposals on the November 2022 ballot. In January 2023, LB 588, a bill that would legalize certain forms of marijuana for medical use, was introduced by Senator Anna Wishart. If passed, the bill, cited as the Medicinal Cannabis Act, will create a framework for legalizing medical marijuana in Nebraska. The Judiciary Committee considered this bill in February 2023 but did not take immediate action. Another bill, Legislative Bill 634, was also introduced in January 2023. It sought to legalize recreational marijuana for adults aged 21 years and over in Nebraska. However, none of these bills were passed by the state’s legislature.

Nebraska residents supporting the legalization of medical cannabis were able to get Measure 437 and 438 on the November 2024 ballot. These initiatives proposed the legalization of up to 5 ounces of marijuana for patients requiring medical cannabis and the establishment of an agency to regulate the state’s medical cannabis industry. Both initiatives passed at the ballots. However, they were challenged by opponents seeking to invalidate their inclusion on the ballot.