Nebraska Medical Cannabis Cultivator Licenses

Nebraska Cultivator Licenses — 4 of 4 Approved

As of May 2026, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission has approved 4 of 4 maximum cultivator licenses: Patrick Thomas (Raymond, Thomas Construction owner; Oct 7, 2025); Midwest Cultivators Group LLC (Nancy Laughlin-Wagner CEO, Frank Hayes CFO, Dave Kanne COO; Omaha; Oct 7, 2025); Stonepine Works LLC (Casey Sledge, Wayne); and Meadowlark Medicinals LLC (Dustin Krajewski; Mar 20, 2026). Each cultivator is capped at 1,250 flowering plants; total system-wide capacity ~20,000 patients at launch. 39 cultivator applications received Sept 4-23, 2025. Crista Eggers’s own application (score 42.33) was denied.

Legal Disclaimer: This information reflects Nebraska cannabis law as of June 2026 and is for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Laws and regulations change — always verify current rules with the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission (administered within the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission); Nebraska Department of Agriculture (industrial hemp); Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS, medical-licensure overlay) or a qualified attorney. Cannabis remains illegal under federal law.

Last verified: May 2026

The Four Approved Cultivators

1. Patrick Thomas (Raymond) — October 7, 2025

Patrick Thomas of Raymond, NE (Lancaster County). Owner of Thomas Construction. Surrendered a USDA hemp license to apply for the medical-cannabis cultivator slot. Average application score: 73.33. First cultivator license awarded.

2. Midwest Cultivators Group LLC (Omaha) — October 7, 2025

Midwest Cultivators Group LLC. CEO Nancy Laughlin-Wagner (RN). CFO Frank Hayes. COO Dave Kanne (Carroll, Iowa). Average application score: 72. Second cultivator license awarded same day as Thomas.

3. Stonepine Works LLC (Casey Sledge, Wayne)

Stonepine Works LLC, Casey Sledge of Wayne. Score 63.67. Third cultivator license approved — later approval after additional commission review.

4. Meadowlark Medicinals LLC (Dustin Krajewski) — March 20, 2026

Meadowlark Medicinals LLC, Dustin Krajewski. Fourth and final cultivator under the 4-cultivator cap. Awarded March 20, 2026 — six months after the first three approvals.

The Eggers Application Denial

Notably, Crista Eggers’s own application for a cultivator license was denied with a score of 42.33. Eggers (executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, mother of Colton Eggers, the public face of the campaign through three ballot cycles) had applied for a cultivator slot. The denial was widely interpreted as politically charged given Eggers’s opposition role to the Pillen / Hilgers administration.

Application Process

July 1, 2025: Application period opened.
September 4-23, 2025: 39 cultivator applications received.
September 8, 2025: Commission approved licensing structure: 4 cultivators / 4 manufacturers / 12 dispensaries / 12 transporters.
October 1, 2025: Statutory deadline to begin issuing licenses — missed by ~1 week due to Liquor Commission resignation crisis.
October 7, 2025: First two licenses awarded (Thomas + Midwest Cultivators).
March 20, 2026: Fourth license awarded (Meadowlark Medicinals).

Operational Capacity Constraint

Each cultivator is capped at 1,250 flowering plants at any one time. With two harvests per year, regulators estimate:

~10,000 harvestable plants annually system-wide.
Capacity for ~20,000 patients at launch.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and the Marijuana Policy Project call this "grossly inadequate." Each of Nebraska’s four neighboring legal-medical states serves at least 10,000 patients individually:

Missouri: ~70,000+ medical patients (pre-rec; rec since Feb 2023).
Colorado: 80,000+ medical patients.
South Dakota: 18,759 patient cards (April 2026).
Iowa: limited medical CBD with ~10,000 patients.

Demographic projections for Nebraska (population 2.0M, ~1.5M adults; based on neighboring-state adoption rates) suggest 30,000-50,000+ likely Nebraska medical-cannabis patients within 1-2 years of operational dispensaries.

Vertical-Integration Status

Nebraska’s emergency rules permit but do not mandate vertical integration. Cultivator licensees may also apply for manufacturer, dispensary, and transporter licenses. As of May 2026, no manufacturer / dispensary / transporter licenses have been issued, so the cultivator licensees are operating cultivation-only without retail downstream.

The In-State-Ownership Requirement

The April 13, 2026 formal regulations require licensees to be at least 51% Nebraska-owned with four-year residency. This creates a small applicant pool and excludes most multi-state cannabis operators (MSOs) like Trulieve, Curaleaf, Verano, Cresco, GTI, and others that dominate medical-cannabis markets in neighboring states. Advocates challenge as inconsistent with voter intent.

The Manufacturer Bottleneck

As of May 2026, the commission has not opened the manufacturer application process. With cultivators producing flower but no licensed manufacturers to convert flower into infused products (edibles, tinctures, topicals, vape cartridges), the supply chain is incomplete. The April 2026 regulations cap concentrate purchases at 5 g delta-9 THC per patient per 90 days from the same dispensary, but with no manufacturers operational, there are no concentrate products in the pipeline.

Practical Patient Implications

With 0 dispensaries operational as of May 2026, no licensed Nebraska retail source for product.
Cultivators have flower in production but no retail outlets.
Patients reportedly obtaining recommendations from out-of-state telehealth practitioners and purchasing legally in Colorado, Missouri, or South Dakota.
Transporting cannabis back to Nebraska remains a state crime; concentrate at any weight = Class IV felony.
Realistic patient access to a state-licensed Nebraska dispensary is unlikely before late 2026 and could slip into 2027.