NE Cannabis Advocacy & Legal Defense

Last verified: May 2026

State Reform Organizations

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana

• Executive Director: Crista Eggers (mother of Colton Eggers, child with severe epilepsy).
• Co-Sponsor: Former State Sen. Adam Morfeld (D-Lincoln, executive director of Civic Nebraska).
• Website: nebraskansformedicalmarijuana.org.
• Activity: lead patient-advocacy and ballot organization through three ballot cycles (2020, 2022, 2024); coordinated I-437 and I-438 campaigns; ~$1.6M raised; ~114,000 signatures collected.

The Wishart-Morfeld Legacy

Former Sens. Anna Wishart and Adam Morfeld (both D-Lincoln, term-limited) founded the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana ballot committee and spent six years pushing variants of medical-cannabis legislation:

• LB 110 (2019) — Wishart medical cannabis (died in committee).
• LB 474 (2021) — Wishart comprehensive medical (filibustered, fell short of 33 cloture).
• LB 588 (2023) — Wishart Medicinal Cannabis Act (indefinitely postponed).
• Three ballot drives (2020 struck, 2022 signature shortfall, 2024 PASSED).

National Organizations

Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) — Nebraska Page

• Website: mpp.org/states/nebraska.
• Activity: Most current implementation tracker; provides infrastructure support for state campaigns; tracks NE legislative bills; characterized commission caps as "grossly inadequate."

NORML Nebraska

• Website: norml.org/laws/item/nebraska-laws-penalties.
• Activity: Maintains state report cards; legal-defense referral network; legislative-advocacy.

Civil-Liberties & Cross-Cutting Organizations

ACLU of Nebraska

• Website: aclunebraska.org.
• Activity: Civil-liberties advocacy; pretrial-diversion and drug-policy reform; criminal-justice reform; Fourth Amendment / search-and-seizure litigation.

Hemp-Industry Coalition

Nebraska Hemp Company (Bill Hawkins)

Bill Hawkins of the Nebraska Hemp Company has been a bridge advocate spanning hemp industry interests and patient-advocacy. Hawkins led industry lobbying against LB 316 (2025) hemp ban and supports broader medical-cannabis access.

U.S. Hemp Roundtable

National hemp-industry association providing legal-defense support to NE retailers facing AG Hilgers cease-and-desist enforcement.

Patient Family Advocates

• Crista & Colton Eggers — Colton has severe epilepsy.
• Dominic & Shelley Gillen (Bellevue) — parents of Will Gillen (now 23). Will has Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of drug-resistant epilepsy. Dominic estimates Will has experienced more than 450,000 seizures.
• Matt & Liz Bronson (Bellevue) — parents of Teddy, a young child with severe epilepsy.

Legal Defense Resources

Nebraska State Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service

• Website: nebar.com.
• Phone: 402-475-7091.
• Service: Referrals to state-bar-licensed criminal-defense attorneys and DUI specialists.

Federal Defender for the District of Nebraska

The Federal Public Defender for the District of Nebraska represents indigent federal-cannabis-trafficking defendants. Federal cannabis prosecutions are typically large-quantity / interstate-distribution cases; the Federal Defender’s office handles most of these cases.

NORML Legal Committee

NORML maintains a network of cannabis-experienced criminal-defense attorneys nationwide, including Nebraska-licensed counsel.

Cross-Border Resources

Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED)

• Website: sbg.colorado.gov/med.
• State-licensed dispensary database. Sterling-area dispensaries serve western Nebraska.

Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation

• Website: cannabis.mo.gov.
• State-licensed dispensaries in St. Joseph, Kansas City, and along I-29.

South Dakota Cannabis Program (DOH)

• Website: medcannabis.sd.gov.
• For tri-state-area patients (South Sioux City, NE / Vermillion, SD / Sioux City, IA).

Iowa Office of Medical Cannabidiol

• Website: idph.iowa.gov/omc.
• Limited medical CBD program.

Practical Defense Considerations

Nebraska cannabis cases — particularly cross-border-interdiction cases — benefit from counsel experienced in:

• Fourth Amendment / Rodriguez motions to suppress for prolonged stops.
• Concentrate-classification challenges (whether a particular product qualifies as concentrate for § 28-416(3) Class IV felony).
• Drug-tax-stamp defense (parallel Class IV felony exposure).
• Civil-asset-forfeiture defense.
• Federal-state coordination — large cases may involve parallel federal and state proceedings.
• Pretrial diversion under § 29-3601 (Lancaster, Douglas, Sarpy counties).
• I-437 affirmative defense — documenting valid practitioner recommendation.

Patient-Advocacy & Legislative Testimony

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, ACLU of Nebraska, and patient families have organized testimony for legislative hearings on medical-cannabis bills (LB 110, LB 474, LB 588, LB 651, LB 677, LB 933, LB 934, LB 1235). Patient testimony has focused on intractable epilepsy (Eggers, Gillen, Bronson families), cancer treatment, PTSD veterans, multiple sclerosis, and chronic-pain. The pattern of testimony was instrumental in the 70.74% I-437 / 66.95% I-438 voter mandate.

2026-2027 Going Forward

The advocacy coalition’s near-term priorities:

• Win the NE Supreme Court Kuehn appeals to solidify ground for licensure.
• Pressure DHHS to register the in-state physician panel.
• Challenge commission caps as inconsistent with voter intent.
• Support 2026 election turnover of legislative seats.
• Build 2027 implementation legislation with broader bipartisan coalition.

Related on this site: NE Cannabis Official Sources, Send a Message, Contact CannabisNebraska.org.