Cannabis in Nebraska is fully illegal, but first offense for possession of small amounts was reduced to a

civil infraction In common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a bro ...

in 1979.

History

Industrial hemp (1887)

According to the USDA, the first crop of industrial hemp in Nebraska was grown in Fremont in 1887 by men from Champaign, Illinois.

Prohibition (1927) and partial decriminalization (1979)

Amidst an early 20th century trend of limiting the drug, Nebraska first restricted cannabis in 1927. In 1969, Nebraska eased penalties for cannabis possession in the state, limiting the penalty for first-time possession to no more than 7 days in jail. Marijuana was decriminalized to a civil infraction for first-time offenders in 1978 or 1979. Testimony given by Nebraska prosecutors and local law enforcement officials before the Nebraska Legislature Judiciary Committee in 2014 showed the different counties in Nebraska respond to marijuana in significantly differing ways. Some county attorneys and sheriffs take an approach emphasizing strict enforcement, while others take an approach that deemphasizes prosecution for minor offenses.

Unsuccessful lawsuit against Colorado

In 2013 and 2014, after the neighboring state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

legalized the use of marijuana, the marijuana arrest rate in Nebraska increased by 11 percent. The amount spent by Nebraska to enforce its marijuana laws also increased by 11 percent (to an estimated $10.2 million). Most of the increase in arrests and enforcement spent came in

western Nebraska The Nebraska Panhandle is an area in the western part of the state of Nebraska and one of several U.S. state panhandles, or elongated geographical regions that extend from their main political entity. The Nebraska panhandle is two-thirds as br ...

(the "Nebraska Panhandle") next to the Colorado border, and particularly along

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

which traverses the entire state. Experts expressed uncertainty whether the spike was caused by the change in Colorado law, by increased enforcement by Nebraska police, or some combination of factors. In December 2014, Nebraska and Oklahoma sought permission from the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

to file an original action against the

State of Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, asking to Court to strike down Colorado's legalization of cannabis.Nebraska and Oklahoma v. Colorado
', '' SCOTUSblog'' (motion for leave to file a bill of complaint denied on March 21, 2016). Nebraska and Oklahoma argued that it had resulted in a spillover of cannabis activity into their states, and thus increasing enforcement expenses and social harm. They argued that the Colorado legislation was " preempted by federal law, and therefore unconstitutional and unenforceable under the Supremacy Clause." In March 2016, the Court denied Nebraska and Oklahoma's request to proceed with its suit. Justice

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 199 ...

, joined by Justice

Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...

, dissented, writing that they would have heard the claim against Colorado.

Unsuccessful 2015 medical cannabis proposal

In 2015, LB643, the "Cannabis Compassion and Care Act," was proposed in the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

state legislature. The legislation would have allowed certain patients with prescriptions to use marijuana in liquid or pill form (but not smoked leaf form) for medical purposes. Patients would only be eligible if they suffered from certain serious illnesses, such as cancer,

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

, and

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

. Following an initial 27–12 vote in favor, the bill's sponsor, Senator Tommy Garrett of Bellevue requested the bill be held until 2016, due to conflicting priorities as the senators dealt with the fallout from the legislature's 2015 prohibition of capital punishment. In 2016 the bill was blocked by a Senate filibuster, falling three votes short of the number failed to advance. The bill encountered the "stiff opposition" of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Pete Ricketts and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Doug Peterson. Marijuana, Buffalo County, Nebraska, 2017-06-15

Unsuccessful 2020 medical cannabis ballot measure

A medical cannabis ballot measure was invalidated by the Nebraska Supreme Court for containing more than one question.

Botany

Nebraska is noted for the presence of feral hemp plants, low in psychoactive THC and generally known as " ditch weed" (or more rarely "Nebraska Nonsense"). A 1987 study noted that 12.4 million cannabis plants were eradicated in Nebraska annually. Hemp researcher David West recommended that farmers store feral hemp seed prior to legalization, in hopes of rebuilding a stock of landrace strain of indigenous cannabis.