Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And it's good to welcome Nebraska State Senator Ben Hansen
back to the program District sixteen. Ben, is that right there?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
You go?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
That's correct in Blair, Uh, you're right in the middle
of this issue in the legislature. You guys have to
figure out since Nebraska went big time for medical marijuana,
how to how to basically administer it and make it safe,
and how the distribution will work. What's the latest on
(00:30):
what you're working on there.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Well, you have to nail on the head. It's exactly right.
The majority of Nebraska, seventy two percent of Nebraska is
going to approve of the medical cannabis and and so
right now that's kind of where we We just had
our hearing earlier this week, and it was a good hearing,
actually really good. We had we heard from from voices
from all over Nebraska and from instituted parties, and some
(00:55):
good opinion from an opposition of AG's office and and
others and in the department. So it was actually it
was actually good hearing. So we had a hearing process.
We're working through amendments right now because of what we
heard in testimony and the hearing to tweak the bill,
make it better and then move forward and get on
the floor. So we're hoping to either get a committee
prioritization or have a center prioritize, prioritize it so we
(01:17):
get on the floor right away.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
You imagined the AJ's office. It's interesting that Nebraska Attorney
General Hilgers and former governor and now US Senator Pete Ricketts,
they done an editorial the other day in the Sunday
World Hearrow. They said, no, you don't have to do anything.
This is this is there, there's still litigation about this.
You shouldn't do anything this session. And to that, you say, what.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
This is what I said to committee members as well.
I said, that's like taking ten thousand dollars of your
own money and putting it on a roulette table. And
I got, well, I probably wouldn't do that. Well, put
it on double zero.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
That's the options of you know, a court case coming
in favor of the AG's office in the state to
get rid of medical marijuana ballot initiative. And then if
we doesn't happen, like I said before, it's a wild West. Now.
You know, we're gonna have dispensaries all over the state
of Nebraska with with no testing regulations and guess what,
no revenue either. That's a big problem for me and
(02:12):
I'm sure a lot of nebrassments too.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, so what is what is the directions you're going
You want this product or the substance to be available
through what medical offices or licensed dispensary? How would it
work in your view?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah? So yeah, so I'm trying to keep this as
close to like any any other way you would get
some kind of pharmaceutical medication. You go to your healthcare practitioner,
you know, with with a certain condition, they prescribe. In
this case, we're not using the term prescribed because we can't.
So we're saying they, you know, they give you a
written recommendation for the use of this. You go dispensary,
(02:52):
and then you get a certain amount that was based
on the recommendation from your health care provider for the
use of the issue that you were having. And so
this entrary, which we have limited for a congressional district
to ten. We don't have too many throat to stay
in to brask We want to make sure that this
is done, that the regulation is done precisely. It's not
effectively and then you go to a dispensary and then
(03:13):
they end up giving you a certain amount, and then
you can see if that ends up helping helping with
your condition, go back to your healthcare providers. They can
kind of tweak it if they need to, just like
you would any other kind of medications. It's just a
fact because it's still classified as a Class one drug.
We have is a terminology and a semantics issue about
how we can say certain things.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
What about the potency issue, the safety issue of the
product itself. Is that regulated? Will you regulate that?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Yes? Yeah, that is very well regulated. And so I've
learned a lot of this whole process over the years,
especially and especially and the state of Nebraska has learned
a lot based on what states have done and what
they haven't done. That's kind of a unique position we're in.
Like a lot of other things, Nebraska is the last
to change, which can be a good thing. It can
be a bad thing too, but in this case it
(03:59):
might be a good thing. We can learn from what
other states have done and how they've rolled it out
and what's worked well for them. For instance, Missouri is
one of the states that we're kind of looking at
on how they rolled out their medical cannabis program, and
safety and potency and quality is a huge thing with
this bill and the people that are growing it and
(04:20):
cultivating it, and has to be in the state Nebraska
by Nebraska owned company by the majority share, has to
view by somebody who's lived in Nebraska for the last
four years. So we're trying to keep it like foreign
Nebraskans buy Nebraskans kind of approach.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
And you will have what inspectors to ensure the uh,
the product. Look, I'm not I'm not a that aad,
so I'm not very familiar. How do you how do
you rig in other words, how do you control equality?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah, we will have inspectors. So we have multiple departments
in the state working through this whole program to barn revenue, barnavag.
You know, inspectors, they can test the potency and the
specific quality of the product and it has to be
grown a very specific way, just like you would any
of the pharmaceutical medication, right, you know the regulations that
are put in the pharmaceutical companies. By making sure that
the quality and the potency is very specific, we're trying
(05:10):
to use the exact same approach with this.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Yeah, and that's what October one is the day, right, yes.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Correct, Yeah, July first actually is when we have to
have the commission everything set up and then look at
October first is kind of a roll up for starting
to look at applications and improving them. And it probably
longer before that actually happens.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, we got to take our time with this.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Yeah. No, I'm not accusing you anything of here here,
Senator at all, but I'm just curious because we know
that there are advocates in the state and even simon
the legislature who see this as as step one to
go into full recreational marijuana. What say you about that?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yeah, I've heard that concern as well. You know, it's
a valid concern. I'm not going to say it's not right,
but this does not mean it's going to happen like
and we don't stop doing something because you know, a
lot of times reward that's going to turn into something. Otherwise,
we would never prescribe opiates or fetanol, right, which have
legitimate uses and surgery and helping people recover. We'd ban
(06:10):
those right away because those turn into something. Right, And so,
for instance, Florida and Oklahoma, they had vallet initiatives for
recreational marijuana. They just they got denied. South Dakota legislature
just denied recreational marijuana. So I don't see Nebraska being there.
You know, from my understanding from the polling that I've seen,
recreational marijuana is not very popular in the state of
(06:33):
Nebraska as a whole. And so if it went to
avalue initiative or because legislature a highly doubt's going to
do it. So if it goes to a value initiative,
I don't see it moving forward, similar with Oklahoma and
South Coota have done.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
It's basically coming out of the sprinklers anyway, but at
least it hasn't been codified in the law yet. Soundat
or thanks appreciate the time this morning very much. Yep.
And it's good to welcome Nebraska State Senator Ben Hansen
back to the program District sixteen. Ben, is that right there?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
You go?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
That's correct in Blair, Uh, you're right in the middle
of this issue in the legislature. You guys have to
figure out since Nebraska went big time for medical marijuana,
how to how to basically administer it and make it safe,
and how the distribution will work. What's the latest on
(00:30):
what you're working on there.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Well, you have to nail on the head. It's exactly right.
The majority of Nebraska, seventy two percent of Nebraska is
going to approve of the medical cannabis and and so
right now that's kind of where we We just had
our hearing earlier this week, and it was a good hearing,
actually really good. We had we heard from from voices
from all over Nebraska and from instituted parties, and some
(00:55):
good opinion from an opposition of AG's office and and
others and in the department. So it was actually it
was actually good hearing. So we had a hearing process.
We're working through amendments right now because of what we
heard in testimony and the hearing to tweak the bill,
make it better and then move forward and get on
the floor. So we're hoping to either get a committee
prioritization or have a center prioritize, prioritize it so we
(01:17):
get on the floor right away.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
You imagined the AJ's office. It's interesting that Nebraska Attorney
General Hilgers and former governor and now US Senator Pete Ricketts,
they done an editorial the other day in the Sunday
World Hearrow. They said, no, you don't have to do anything.
This is this is there, there's still litigation about this.
You shouldn't do anything this session. And to that, you say, what.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
This is what I said to committee members as well.
I said, that's like taking ten thousand dollars of your
own money and putting it on a roulette table. And
I got, well, I probably wouldn't do that. Well, put
it on double zero.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
That's the options of you know, a court case coming
in favor of the AG's office in the state to
get rid of medical marijuana ballot initiative. And then if
we doesn't happen, like I said before, it's a wild West. Now.
You know, we're gonna have dispensaries all over the state
of Nebraska with with no testing regulations and guess what,
no revenue either. That's a big problem for me and
(02:12):
I'm sure a lot of nebrassments too.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, so what is what is the directions you're going
You want this product or the substance to be available
through what medical offices or licensed dispensary? How would it
work in your view?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah? So yeah, so I'm trying to keep this as
close to like any any other way you would get
some kind of pharmaceutical medication. You go to your healthcare practitioner,
you know, with with a certain condition, they prescribe. In
this case, we're not using the term prescribed because we can't.
So we're saying they, you know, they give you a
written recommendation for the use of this. You go dispensary,
(02:52):
and then you get a certain amount that was based
on the recommendation from your health care provider for the
use of the issue that you were having. And so
this entrary, which we have limited for a congressional district
to ten. We don't have too many throat to stay
in to brask We want to make sure that this
is done, that the regulation is done precisely. It's not
effectively and then you go to a dispensary and then
(03:13):
they end up giving you a certain amount, and then
you can see if that ends up helping helping with
your condition, go back to your healthcare providers. They can
kind of tweak it if they need to, just like
you would any other kind of medications. It's just a
fact because it's still classified as a Class one drug.
We have is a terminology and a semantics issue about
how we can say certain things.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
What about the potency issue, the safety issue of the
product itself. Is that regulated? Will you regulate that?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Yes? Yeah, that is very well regulated. And so I've
learned a lot of this whole process over the years,
especially and especially and the state of Nebraska has learned
a lot based on what states have done and what
they haven't done. That's kind of a unique position we're in.
Like a lot of other things, Nebraska is the last
to change, which can be a good thing. It can
be a bad thing too, but in this case it
(03:59):
might be a good thing. We can learn from what
other states have done and how they've rolled it out
and what's worked well for them. For instance, Missouri is
one of the states that we're kind of looking at
on how they rolled out their medical cannabis program, and
safety and potency and quality is a huge thing with
this bill and the people that are growing it and
(04:20):
cultivating it, and has to be in the state Nebraska
by Nebraska owned company by the majority share, has to
view by somebody who's lived in Nebraska for the last
four years. So we're trying to keep it like foreign
Nebraskans buy Nebraskans kind of approach.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
And you will have what inspectors to ensure the uh,
the product. Look, I'm not I'm not a that aad,
so I'm not very familiar. How do you how do
you rig in other words, how do you control equality?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah, we will have inspectors. So we have multiple departments
in the state working through this whole program to barn revenue, barnavag.
You know, inspectors, they can test the potency and the
specific quality of the product and it has to be
grown a very specific way, just like you would any
of the pharmaceutical medication, right, you know the regulations that
are put in the pharmaceutical companies. By making sure that
the quality and the potency is very specific, we're trying
(05:10):
to use the exact same approach with this.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Yeah, and that's what October one is the day, right, yes.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Correct, Yeah, July first actually is when we have to
have the commission everything set up and then look at
October first is kind of a roll up for starting
to look at applications and improving them. And it probably
longer before that actually happens.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, we got to take our time with this.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Yeah. No, I'm not accusing you anything of here here,
Senator at all, but I'm just curious because we know
that there are advocates in the state and even simon
the legislature who see this as as step one to
go into full recreational marijuana. What say you about that?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yeah, I've heard that concern as well. You know, it's
a valid concern. I'm not going to say it's not right,
but this does not mean it's going to happen like
and we don't stop doing something because you know, a
lot of times reward that's going to turn into something. Otherwise,
we would never prescribe opiates or fetanol, right, which have
legitimate uses and surgery and helping people recover. We'd ban
(06:10):
those right away because those turn into something. Right, And so,
for instance, Florida and Oklahoma, they had vallet initiatives for
recreational marijuana. They just they got denied. South Dakota legislature
just denied recreational marijuana. So I don't see Nebraska being there.
You know, from my understanding from the polling that I've seen,
recreational marijuana is not very popular in the state of
(06:33):
Nebraska as a whole. And so if it went to
avalue initiative or because legislature a highly doubt's going to
do it. So if it goes to a value initiative,
I don't see it moving forward, similar with Oklahoma and
South Coota have done.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
It's basically coming out of the sprinklers anyway, but at
least it hasn't been codified in the law yet. Soundat
or thanks appreciate the time this morning very much. Yep.
Popular Podcasts
Boysober
Have you ever wondered what life might be like if you stopped worrying about being wanted, and focused on understanding what you actually want? That was the question Hope Woodard asked herself after a string of situationships inspired her to take a break from sex and dating. She went "boysober," a personal concept that sparked a global movement among women looking to prioritize themselves over men. Now, Hope is looking to expand the ways we explore our relationship to relationships. Taking a bold, unfiltered look into modern love, romance, and self-discovery, Boysober will dive into messy stories about dating, sex, love, friendship, and breaking generational patterns—all with humor, vulnerability, and a fresh perspective.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com