A measure seeking to protect health care providers who recommend medical cannabis from legal penalties was passed over Tuesday in the Nebraska Legislature after a so-called “poison pill” amendment was attached to the bill.
The bill, LB933, introduced by State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, would have broadly protected health care practitioners from any civil penalties or disciplinary actions when providing written or verbal recommendations to patients “to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from using cannabis to treat or alleviate a patient’s medical condition.”
The measure, dubbed the “Nebraska Medical Cannabis Patient Protection Act,” was selected by Cavanaugh as his personal priority bill this session, typically guaranteeing a chance at floor debate. Lawmakers voted 30-7 on March 20 to advance the bill for a second round of debate.
Senator Kathleen Kauth of Omaha – District 31 (Photo: Nebraska Unicameral Information Office)
But during this second round on Tuesday, State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha filed an amendment to attach her bill, LB732, to Cavanaugh’s bill. Kauth’s bill seeks to expand Nebraska’s “Let Them Grow Act” by banning puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for anyone under 19, while adding enforcement mechanisms and legal penalties for providers.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, the group behind 2024’s voter-approved ballot initiative which legalized medical cannabis in the state, called Kauth’s move a “clear attempt to kill the bill,” while suggesting continued “influence of the Attorney General [Mike Hilgers], Governor [Jim Pillen], and [U.S. Senator for Nebraska] Pete Ricketts working behind the scenes.”
“Senators who choose to engage and support these ‘poison pill’ bills should be ashamed and held accountable for their mockery of suffering patients and an intentional slap in the face to voters,” Crista Eggers, the group’s Executive Director, said in an email statement to supporters.
Cavanaugh told the Nebraska Examiner his bill had been “hijacked” and is “no longer following through on the promise that so many [lawmakers] made to their constituents.”
Ultimately, Cavanaugh asked Speaker of the Legislature John Arch of La Vista to pass over his bill, removing it from the agenda this session. Tuesday was Day 56 of this year’s 60-day session.
During the bill’s first round of debate, Cavanaugh said to date zero patients in Nebraska have received a medical cannabis recommendation for treatment—despite being legal for over a year.
Earlier this month, lawmakers passed the state’s first medical cannabis legislation since legalization.