While the process to bring medical marijuana to Nebraska is moving in fits and starts, plans for adult-use cannabis are moving quickly by comparison. The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, which legalized cannabis for both adult-use and medical use in July, has announced plans to open a dispensary early next year. John Cartier, the attorney general for the Omaha Tribe, said the process is going well, and tribal officials are currently looking to create a regulatory commission.
"I was impressed with the amount of applicants; it was just over 70 folks who applied to be on our Nebraska cannabis commission," Cartier said. "The structure of it is based on our title 51 Cannabis Control code. There're three spots for tribal members and then there's two spots for non-tribal members who have significant industry experience."
He said officials narrowed it down to 14 candidates for the five-person commission. The non-native members do not necessarily have to be from Nebraska, just have significant experience within the cannabis industry, but Cartier said most who applied were Nebraskans.
"I have drafted our cannabis regulations that's going to cement the kind of landscape of what the application process looks like and the requirements," Cartier said. "The most important part of that, though, is focusing on a vertical license that will be awarded to the tribe, or the tribe working with a partner in [a] joint venture capacity, and that will be the only vertical license issued."
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