Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Nebraskan said pretty resoundingly. Yeah, we want medical marijuana. Nebraskan's
said amen. But now in the legislature it's left to
the state senators to put structures in place, and it
has hit a rather large snag. And we've talked with
(00:20):
Senator Ben Hanson about this before, and I want to
have been back for an update. Senator. Good morning, good
to have you on.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Thanks for having me. Greg.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
You bet, so this you have to have some kind
of structure or or or control board in place in
the state, right otherwise otherwise what happens when this becomes
a legal substance.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Well, yeah, in what you preference before is correct. It's
we have to have a board put in place for
the initiative that we that the vote seventy one percent
of voters voted for. And then if we don't do
anything in the legislature, it's like it mentioned before, it's
like the wild West when it comes to regulation and rules,
and that's something we don't want to have when it
comes to medical marijuana, because then doesn't make it medical
(01:06):
at all when people can maybe grow it in the
front yard, you know, or you know, purchase it from
out of state and bring it in here that the
legality of that are all over the place. So I
talk county attorneys and they don't know. They're trying to
figure out what's going to happen. If we don't do
something's legislature. I'll tell you what, we won't make any
revenue off of it either, which which I know is
significant for a lot of Nebraska's for property tax purposes.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Well, July one is a drop dead raid right where
the substance becomes legal for medical purposes. So suppose that
you're unsuccessful in getting those back out and passed and
the structure in place, what happens on July.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
One, Well, from my understanding, I think the board and
gets appointed. For my understanding, I think from the governor.
And then if that happens, I can only assume that
it's going to be overly restrictive kind of what Iowa
has done for people are unable to even purchase it,
and so then we're seeing up ticking the black market.
(02:04):
People can't use it for the medical purposes that they need.
And so you know, it's it's still up in the
air of what exactly does happen. That's something we never
want to have you know when it comes to making
laws and regulations for Nebraska. So you know, we and
we don't want to overrestrict it because I'm people who
legitimately need it. You know, if their kid with epilepsy
(02:24):
or somebody with Parkinson's or somebody with chronic pain can't
can't use it, and now they're their only option is
an opioid. That's another thing we don't want to have.
So you know, it's it's it's hard, it's hard to
say it. It's a big gray area right now.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
So what are you hearing? We know the governor's opposed,
the attorney generals opposed. What are you hearing from your
colleagues and the legislature who who are opposed to this
bill or to this to this amendment? I guess it is.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Yeah, Well, the big the biggest thing, the concern that
I hear from my form my colleagues, especially on the right,
is the idea that this will turn into a recreational marijuana. Right.
That's their concern, which I and I tell them, And
I was right three years ago when I talked about
medical marijuana, how we should pass in the legislature so
you have more control over it. I said, If you
want to have recreational marijuana, the fastest way you can
(03:13):
have it is deny that people their right to use
medical marijuana, because it's going to beun about in two years.
You know, if you upset the voters, that that's what happens.
And so I said, we need to do something here.
So that's that's the biggest concern that I hear for
my colleagues, is that they're concerned about recreational marijuana, which
could be valid. This could maybe you know, you know,
(03:33):
make it happen faster, but what's gonna happen. It's going
to make it happen to even faster. Is not doing
anything You might.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Want to give your colleagues the heads up. There's a
there's more medical recreational marijuana available than you've ever heard of.
If you want to get it, if you want to
just walk around the streets for half hour, you can
find that. Everybody knows that.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
You can find. You can smell it too. And though
with with with the medicinal Cannabis bill that we're trying
to do is the only way you can even We
got rid of the smoking portion of it, so you
can't go to a just distribution area and and purchase
pre rolls and and smokeable forms. The only thing, the
big hang up we're having, and we're very close here.
The only thing hang up we're really having is the
(04:13):
ability to purchase the flower or the raw material so
people can take it home and perhaps smoke it only
in their home. We have it specifically saying they can
only do in their home. They can't do in their
porch or the sidewalk or a street corner, or they
might want to make it in some kind of consumable
form or their own tincture, kind of a more natural form.
That's that's where we're hung up, right there is the
ability to purchase the flower portion or the raw material.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
So what's your otherwise We're good, Yeah, So what's your
next move here?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Well, we have a couple moves. I'm hoping that over
the weekend, you know, we can you know that I
think some of the feedback the you know, General Affairs
Committee would get from their from their constituents, from the
from the press, from the public might be able to
get them to think about how we can move this forward.
So the committee can still push something forward. That's the
cleanest way of doing it otherwise. You know, I have
an option of do let's call it pull motion, so
(05:02):
I can bring a motion on the floor so the
legislature as a body, as a whole can vote to
pull it out of committee forcefully without the committee voting
on it, so we can have another floor for debate.
So that's the other option that I have that I
hope to not have to use. But mean, you know,
if that's the only option I have left, and I'll
do it. Yeah, we need to discuss this on the floor.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah, yeah, that seems fair, you know, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Yeah, We've done it before, and so it's I think
we owe it. We at least owe it to the
seventy two percent of Nebraskas who voted for this to
at least have a discussion the floor and see what
we can move forward so they can hear from all
of us.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Incidentally, and I know this won't surprise you, but I
have a strong suspicion that regardless of what happens with this,
the next push is going to be for a recreational use.
You know, that's common, that's common anyway.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
So yeah, and what's going to make it happen faster
is just upset the people, and so they've already got
language written. So there's a whole bunch of people who
voted for medical cannabis who don't want recreational but now
that might be their only ability. Now, if you know,
if you know, if you got a kid who has,
you know, a disease where this can actually help them
as opposed to a strong pharmaceutical medication that might cause
(06:12):
a whole much of side effects, And you're gonna do
what you need to do. I don't blame parents, and
so this is just going to make that happen a
lot faster.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Soundator, thanks for keep an eye on it all right,
thank you for I appreciate the time. Senator Ben Hansen
from Blair
Nebraskan said pretty resoundingly. Yeah, we want medical marijuana. Nebraskan's
said amen. But now in the legislature it's left to
the state senators to put structures in place, and it
has hit a rather large snag. And we've talked with
(00:20):
Senator Ben Hanson about this before, and I want to
have been back for an update. Senator. Good morning, good
to have you on.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Thanks for having me. Greg.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
You bet, so this you have to have some kind
of structure or or or control board in place in
the state, right otherwise otherwise what happens when this becomes
a legal substance.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Well, yeah, in what you preference before is correct. It's
we have to have a board put in place for
the initiative that we that the vote seventy one percent
of voters voted for. And then if we don't do
anything in the legislature, it's like it mentioned before, it's
like the wild West when it comes to regulation and rules,
and that's something we don't want to have when it
comes to medical marijuana, because then doesn't make it medical
(01:06):
at all when people can maybe grow it in the
front yard, you know, or you know, purchase it from
out of state and bring it in here that the
legality of that are all over the place. So I
talk county attorneys and they don't know. They're trying to
figure out what's going to happen. If we don't do
something's legislature. I'll tell you what, we won't make any
revenue off of it either, which which I know is
significant for a lot of Nebraska's for property tax purposes.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Well, July one is a drop dead raid right where
the substance becomes legal for medical purposes. So suppose that
you're unsuccessful in getting those back out and passed and
the structure in place, what happens on July.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
One, Well, from my understanding, I think the board and
gets appointed. For my understanding, I think from the governor.
And then if that happens, I can only assume that
it's going to be overly restrictive kind of what Iowa
has done for people are unable to even purchase it,
and so then we're seeing up ticking the black market.
(02:04):
People can't use it for the medical purposes that they need.
And so you know, it's it's still up in the
air of what exactly does happen. That's something we never
want to have you know when it comes to making
laws and regulations for Nebraska. So you know, we and
we don't want to overrestrict it because I'm people who
legitimately need it. You know, if their kid with epilepsy
(02:24):
or somebody with Parkinson's or somebody with chronic pain can't
can't use it, and now they're their only option is
an opioid. That's another thing we don't want to have.
So you know, it's it's it's hard, it's hard to
say it. It's a big gray area right now.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
So what are you hearing? We know the governor's opposed,
the attorney generals opposed. What are you hearing from your
colleagues and the legislature who who are opposed to this
bill or to this to this amendment? I guess it is.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Yeah, Well, the big the biggest thing, the concern that
I hear from my form my colleagues, especially on the right,
is the idea that this will turn into a recreational marijuana. Right.
That's their concern, which I and I tell them, And
I was right three years ago when I talked about
medical marijuana, how we should pass in the legislature so
you have more control over it. I said, If you
want to have recreational marijuana, the fastest way you can
(03:13):
have it is deny that people their right to use
medical marijuana, because it's going to beun about in two years.
You know, if you upset the voters, that that's what happens.
And so I said, we need to do something here.
So that's that's the biggest concern that I hear for
my colleagues, is that they're concerned about recreational marijuana, which
could be valid. This could maybe you know, you know,
(03:33):
make it happen faster, but what's gonna happen. It's going
to make it happen to even faster. Is not doing
anything You might.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Want to give your colleagues the heads up. There's a
there's more medical recreational marijuana available than you've ever heard of.
If you want to get it, if you want to
just walk around the streets for half hour, you can
find that. Everybody knows that.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
You can find. You can smell it too. And though
with with with the medicinal Cannabis bill that we're trying
to do is the only way you can even We
got rid of the smoking portion of it, so you
can't go to a just distribution area and and purchase
pre rolls and and smokeable forms. The only thing, the
big hang up we're having, and we're very close here.
The only thing hang up we're really having is the
(04:13):
ability to purchase the flower or the raw material so
people can take it home and perhaps smoke it only
in their home. We have it specifically saying they can
only do in their home. They can't do in their
porch or the sidewalk or a street corner, or they
might want to make it in some kind of consumable
form or their own tincture, kind of a more natural form.
That's that's where we're hung up, right there is the
ability to purchase the flower portion or the raw material.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
So what's your otherwise We're good, Yeah, So what's your
next move here?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Well, we have a couple moves. I'm hoping that over
the weekend, you know, we can you know that I
think some of the feedback the you know, General Affairs
Committee would get from their from their constituents, from the
from the press, from the public might be able to
get them to think about how we can move this forward.
So the committee can still push something forward. That's the
cleanest way of doing it otherwise. You know, I have
an option of do let's call it pull motion, so
(05:02):
I can bring a motion on the floor so the
legislature as a body, as a whole can vote to
pull it out of committee forcefully without the committee voting
on it, so we can have another floor for debate.
So that's the other option that I have that I
hope to not have to use. But mean, you know,
if that's the only option I have left, and I'll
do it. Yeah, we need to discuss this on the floor.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah, yeah, that seems fair, you know, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Yeah, We've done it before, and so it's I think
we owe it. We at least owe it to the
seventy two percent of Nebraskas who voted for this to
at least have a discussion the floor and see what
we can move forward so they can hear from all
of us.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Incidentally, and I know this won't surprise you, but I
have a strong suspicion that regardless of what happens with this,
the next push is going to be for a recreational use.
You know, that's common, that's common anyway.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
So yeah, and what's going to make it happen faster
is just upset the people, and so they've already got
language written. So there's a whole bunch of people who
voted for medical cannabis who don't want recreational but now
that might be their only ability. Now, if you know,
if you know, if you got a kid who has,
you know, a disease where this can actually help them
as opposed to a strong pharmaceutical medication that might cause
(06:12):
a whole much of side effects, And you're gonna do
what you need to do. I don't blame parents, and
so this is just going to make that happen a
lot faster.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Soundator, thanks for keep an eye on it all right,
thank you for I appreciate the time. Senator Ben Hansen
from Blair
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