Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Pleasure to welcome Nebraska State Senator John cavan Ought of
the program, Omaha District nine Senator, Welcome, good to have
you on.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hey Gary, great to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Thanks, I appreciate it. Now, those regular listeners and watchers
of Nebraska politics may know that John and I are
not Siamese twins when it comes to politics. However, there
is an issue on which we're very much in agreement,
and that is how the medical marijuana accessibility has been
(00:34):
slow walked by the state. And I think John, principally
the governor and the Attorney General, from the beginning of
this ballot issue passing big, they've made it difficult for
the people who want it to get it. And you
had a hearing the other day and you had some folks,
I guess on both sides. This was one of your
(00:57):
committees in the legislature. What are you seeing going down
the road here? Is there any possibility that the people
who want and say they need the substance can get
it in the form they need it?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Well, yeah, the commission. So the regulations are made by
the Cannabis Control Commission, which is appointed entirely by the governor,
and there are currently two vacancies on the Liquor Control Commission,
and so Governor Pillen can appoint two of the five
remaining members, and so he has an opportunity to appoint
folks who are going to be willing to create a
(01:34):
program that will actually make it accessible. The current commission
two of the people he's appointed were advocates against the
ballot initiatives, So people who really don't believe in creating
a program that makes medical cannabis accessible to the patients
who are looking for it. So I think there's two
paths going forward. One is the governor can appoint people
(01:56):
who are more friendly to what the voters wanted, and
the other path is the legislature can take some action
next spring and actually create a better system.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah, and I want to be a full disclosure here.
I don't smoke marijuana or use it in any form,
never have, and I voted against this, But that's not
the point. The point to me is, Senator, when you
have seventy one percent people who vote say amen, then
it's up to policymakers to say, Okay, that's the will
of the people, let's go forward. Are you sympathetic at
(02:33):
all to the claim made by Senator storm that what
was on the ballot was that the Cannabis Commission will
regulate cannabis in this state. That's the quote. He says,
this is what people voted on, so their regulatory authority
should not be questioned. Are you sympathetic to that argument
at all.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Well, it's a bit of a misreading of the statute.
The Cannabis Chussion is to regulate the manufacturer and distribution
of cannabis, not the possession, and not the recommendation by
medical professionals. The Commission has overstepped in both of those capacities,
and in respect for the spirit of the law that
was voted on by seventy percent seventy one percent of voters,
(03:19):
the Commission should be facilitating that. So there are two
parts to the ballot initiative. One is the possession of
up to five ounces for medical reasons as recommended by
a doctor, and the other part is the regulation to
facilitate that. And so the Commission is rather than facilitating
(03:39):
the first ballot initiative, which got more votes by the way,
the Commission is creating a regulatory structure that undermines the
first ballot initiative. And so they do have authority to
regulate the manufacturing and distribution, but they should be doing
it in a way that actually respects the will of
the people that voted for both of these ballot initiatives.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
I agree. What do you say, Senator John Kavanaugh with
us for another minute or two. What do you say, John,
to the argument that, look, what this is is just
a way for people to go get legal weed, and
it's another step on the road to legalizing recreational marijuana Nebraska.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
I would tell them to go talk to the families
who have come and talked to the legislature, the parents
of kids with epilepsy, the patients who would be taking
tons and tons of opioids if not for cannabis for
pain management, the veterans who are experiencing PTSD, and this
is the only thing that helps them. Those folks have
(04:39):
made themselves available. They've come and talked to the Commission,
They've come and talked to the legislature. Their stories are compelling.
They are real Nebraskans who are suffering as a result
of the work of this Commission and the obstacles erected
by the Attorney General and the governor. They are just
patients and families who are looking for relief and the
voters to give it to them, and the governor and
(05:02):
the Attorney General are standing in the way.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
What would you like to see in terms of availability,
because the Commission is restricting the types of substances right,
in other words, no smoking, no vaping, that kind of thing.
What would you like to see.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Well, it's clear if you do talk to these patients
that smoking is a necessary delivery mechanism for people, especially
experiencing pain management and so limiting that is just ignoring
a large swath of patients. And then there's a lot
(05:38):
of other aspects in terms of the plant being available
for folks to make their own tinctures or consumables that
are really important as well. And of course it is
a lack of respect for the balance, and balance is
explicitly clearly stated that all parts of the plant shall
be legal for possession. So the voters clearly voted on
(06:01):
people being able to possess the plant for both smoking
and making their own consumable. So I think it's it's
imperative that we have a system that makes sure people
can get access to them.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, and those folks one of whom one of the
activists in Nebraska is a long time family friend, and
and she's just been frustrated for years, and they finally
they finally got ballot language that passes muster and it's
and it's given the amen by the people. And they're
still struggling with this. So did I hear one time, John,
(06:33):
a couple of years ago, maybe that or whenever it
was that this passed, that they want to restrict the
number of dispensaries to one per judicial district? Is that true?
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, that was part of the proposal, so would be
there'd be very limited number. So they won in Douglas County,
probably one in Lancaster County. And I don't claim to
know what is the right number of dispensaries, but putting
an artificial limit on the number of dispensaries is you know,
there's way more Walgreens or cbs is in Omaha than one.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Yeah, well, frustrating politically from my point of view, and
frustrating medically for those folks that that would like to
have it available to relieve some of their conditions. Senator,
thanks for the time this morning. I appreciate you coming on.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yeah, thanks for having me. I appreciate the.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Interest you bet. Senator John Kavanaugh District nine, Omaha
Pleasure to welcome Nebraska State Senator John cavan Ought of
the program, Omaha District nine Senator, Welcome, good to have
you on.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hey Gary, great to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Thanks, I appreciate it. Now, those regular listeners and watchers
of Nebraska politics may know that John and I are
not Siamese twins when it comes to politics. However, there
is an issue on which we're very much in agreement,
and that is how the medical marijuana accessibility has been
(00:34):
slow walked by the state. And I think John, principally
the governor and the Attorney General, from the beginning of
this ballot issue passing big, they've made it difficult for
the people who want it to get it. And you
had a hearing the other day and you had some folks,
I guess on both sides. This was one of your
(00:57):
committees in the legislature. What are you seeing going down
the road here? Is there any possibility that the people
who want and say they need the substance can get
it in the form they need it?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Well, yeah, the commission. So the regulations are made by
the Cannabis Control Commission, which is appointed entirely by the governor,
and there are currently two vacancies on the Liquor Control Commission,
and so Governor Pillen can appoint two of the five
remaining members, and so he has an opportunity to appoint
folks who are going to be willing to create a
(01:34):
program that will actually make it accessible. The current commission
two of the people he's appointed were advocates against the
ballot initiatives, So people who really don't believe in creating
a program that makes medical cannabis accessible to the patients
who are looking for it. So I think there's two
paths going forward. One is the governor can appoint people
(01:56):
who are more friendly to what the voters wanted, and
the other path is the legislature can take some action
next spring and actually create a better system.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah, and I want to be a full disclosure here.
I don't smoke marijuana or use it in any form,
never have, and I voted against this, But that's not
the point. The point to me is, Senator, when you
have seventy one percent people who vote say amen, then
it's up to policymakers to say, Okay, that's the will
of the people, let's go forward. Are you sympathetic at
(02:33):
all to the claim made by Senator storm that what
was on the ballot was that the Cannabis Commission will
regulate cannabis in this state. That's the quote. He says,
this is what people voted on, so their regulatory authority
should not be questioned. Are you sympathetic to that argument
at all.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Well, it's a bit of a misreading of the statute.
The Cannabis Chussion is to regulate the manufacturer and distribution
of cannabis, not the possession, and not the recommendation by
medical professionals. The Commission has overstepped in both of those capacities,
and in respect for the spirit of the law that
was voted on by seventy percent seventy one percent of voters,
(03:19):
the Commission should be facilitating that. So there are two
parts to the ballot initiative. One is the possession of
up to five ounces for medical reasons as recommended by
a doctor, and the other part is the regulation to
facilitate that. And so the Commission is rather than facilitating
(03:39):
the first ballot initiative, which got more votes by the way,
the Commission is creating a regulatory structure that undermines the
first ballot initiative. And so they do have authority to
regulate the manufacturing and distribution, but they should be doing
it in a way that actually respects the will of
the people that voted for both of these ballot initiatives.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
I agree. What do you say, Senator John Kavanaugh with
us for another minute or two. What do you say, John,
to the argument that, look, what this is is just
a way for people to go get legal weed, and
it's another step on the road to legalizing recreational marijuana Nebraska.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
I would tell them to go talk to the families
who have come and talked to the legislature, the parents
of kids with epilepsy, the patients who would be taking
tons and tons of opioids if not for cannabis for
pain management, the veterans who are experiencing PTSD, and this
is the only thing that helps them. Those folks have
(04:39):
made themselves available. They've come and talked to the Commission,
They've come and talked to the legislature. Their stories are compelling.
They are real Nebraskans who are suffering as a result
of the work of this Commission and the obstacles erected
by the Attorney General and the governor. They are just
patients and families who are looking for relief and the
voters to give it to them, and the governor and
(05:02):
the Attorney General are standing in the way.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
What would you like to see in terms of availability,
because the Commission is restricting the types of substances right,
in other words, no smoking, no vaping, that kind of thing.
What would you like to see.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Well, it's clear if you do talk to these patients
that smoking is a necessary delivery mechanism for people, especially
experiencing pain management and so limiting that is just ignoring
a large swath of patients. And then there's a lot
(05:38):
of other aspects in terms of the plant being available
for folks to make their own tinctures or consumables that
are really important as well. And of course it is
a lack of respect for the balance, and balance is
explicitly clearly stated that all parts of the plant shall
be legal for possession. So the voters clearly voted on
(06:01):
people being able to possess the plant for both smoking
and making their own consumable. So I think it's it's
imperative that we have a system that makes sure people
can get access to them.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, and those folks one of whom one of the
activists in Nebraska is a long time family friend, and
and she's just been frustrated for years, and they finally
they finally got ballot language that passes muster and it's
and it's given the amen by the people. And they're
still struggling with this. So did I hear one time, John,
(06:33):
a couple of years ago, maybe that or whenever it
was that this passed, that they want to restrict the
number of dispensaries to one per judicial district? Is that true?
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, that was part of the proposal, so would be
there'd be very limited number. So they won in Douglas County,
probably one in Lancaster County. And I don't claim to
know what is the right number of dispensaries, but putting
an artificial limit on the number of dispensaries is you know,
there's way more Walgreens or cbs is in Omaha than one.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Yeah, well, frustrating politically from my point of view, and
frustrating medically for those folks that that would like to
have it available to relieve some of their conditions. Senator,
thanks for the time this morning. I appreciate you coming on.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yeah, thanks for having me. I appreciate the.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Interest you bet. Senator John Kavanaugh District nine, Omaha
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