LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – Gov. Jim Pillen said Friday that he has assigned two people to the newly formed Medical Cannabis Commission, but some say they don’t support what they would be regulating.
“I have appointed two experienced, well-qualified individuals to the Medical Cannabis Commission, who will ensure this new industry is strongly regulated to the letter of the law the people of Nebraska enacted,” Pillen said in a statement Friday. “I urge the Legislature to promptly confirm them so they can take up the urgent work of writing strong and effective ‘rules of the road’ for the medical cannabis industry.”
The governor’s announcement didn‘t include the names of his appointees, but hearings for Dr. Monica Oldenburg, a Lincoln anesthesiologist, and Lorelle Mueting of Omaha, the prevention program director at Heartland Family Service, are listed on the Legislative calendar, set to begin at 2 p.m. May 22. The public can submit comments on either candidate online before 8 a.m. that morning.
Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, questioned the selections in a statement Friday, saying they are “fundamentally opposed” to medical marijuana.
“While we appreciate Governor Pillen‘s effort to take action in response to the will of the people, we find it disingenuous to characterize these appointments as ‘experienced and well-qualified.’ Both individuals have consistently express strong oppoosition to medical cannabis, both personally and professionally,” she said. “Appointing regulators who are fundamentally opposed to the very issue they are charged with overseeing suggest that other motives maybe at play — motives that appear misaligned with the public intent, and not to mention the will of 71% of the state.”
Following the November election, Pillen acknowledged that nearly three of every four Nebraska voters supported legalizing medical marijuana. But in March, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Sen. Pete Ricketts have taken public stances against legalization and regulation of medical cannabis even as legislative committees were set to hear public comment before debating next steps.
The bill, LB667, stalled but was pulled out of committee at the beginning of May. State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue said then that he expects debate on the bill to occur later this month, but as of Friday, LB667 remained in General File.
A few days later, town halls in Omaha, La Vista, and Lincoln gave Nebraskans a chance to remind their lawmakers of the mandate voters gave them months earlier. Days later, 15 Nebraska sheriffs — including those from Douglas, Sarpy, and Lancaster counties — signed a letter the state Attorney General sent the Legislature, voicing opposition to pending legislation that moves Nebraska toward legalized medical marijuana.
In accordance with Nebraska’s medical marijuana laws, officially put in place with Pillen’s signature in December, the new commssion has two regulation-oriented deadlines to hit: July 1 and Oct. 1.
STATE LIQUOR COMMISSION
As outlined in the state’s new medical marijuana laws, Liquor Control Commission members will also be part of the new commission.
Hobert Rupe, a former assistant attorney general, has served as the executive director of that commission since 2004.
Commissioner Bruce Bailey is a founding partner at an architectural and engineering firm who has served on several boards in Lincoln. Bailey’s term expires in May 2029, according to the commission website.
Bailey told the Nebraska Examiner last year that he changed his party affiliation from Republican to nonpartisan in July 2018. That enabled then-Gov. Pete Ricketts to appoint another Republican to the commission — Harry Hoch Jr. — while maintaining the political balance required by Nebraska state law.
Hoch’s term expires next Saturday, May 24. Appointed in 2019, he once served as president of a distribution company in Grand Island and spent two terms on the National Beer Wholesalers Board.
The state’s website says Commmissioner Kim Lowe has “been involved with many businesses” with her husband, including a pub, a nightclub, a brewery, a frozen yogurt spot, and an imaging business. She also has a stake in her family’s real estate holdings firm, which focuses on collections and maintenance. Her term is up in May 2027, according to the website.
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