Politics
Nebraska Tribe Punches Back After State Officials Hint At Prosecuting People For Buying Marijuana On Its Reservation
A Native American tribe in Nebraska, as well as cannabis reform activists, are punching back against the governor and state attorney general over recent comments suggesting that people would be prosecuted if they buy marijuana from businesses on its reservation.
Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) both made controversial remarks about the tribe’s cannabis program this week amid negotiations over a compact on tax revenue from tobacco sales.
Hilgers said that people who buy marijuana under the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska’s planned legal market on its reservation within the state do so “at their own peril,” implying enforcement action against citizens for purchasing what he described as a “poison” if they take it beyond the territory’s borders.
In response, the tribe’s attorney general, John Cartier, put out a statement condemning the top state officials, emphasizing that the state “cannot dictate our internal licensing” and that “retaliation and misinformation do not serve patients or taxpayers.”
“We continue to act in good faith and are ready to work with the Governor to find agreement that benefits both parties, but we caution him: if he is relying solely on the Attorney General’s flawed interpretation of the law, personal crusades are clouding his legal judgment as they have before,” he said. “If the State continues to retaliate or attempts to block our lawful enterprise, we will defend our sovereignty through all available means.”
Cartier said the notion that the tribe can’t sell marijuana under its regulatory model to non-tribal members is “wrong.”
“Nebraskans overwhelmingly approved medical cannabis last November, yet the administration has pursued litigation and commission actions that frustrate voter intent and depart from Nebraska law and the sponsors’ stated purpose,” the statement says. “None of this alters the jurisdictional line that preserves the Tribe’s authority on tribal lands. The Tribe has moved forward, as is our right, with regulations that align with statute. The State’s reaction misstates the law and distracts from patient-focused solutions.”
The tribe’s attorney general said its members are willing to compromise on the tobacco tax issue and accept a compact deal previously offered by the administration. But if that compromise plan is also being withdrawn, he said that would “demonstrate direct retaliation against the Tribe, and we will respond accordingly.”
“We prefer to work directly with the Governor on a tobacco tax compact that benefits both parties and respects sovereignty. Any attempt to leverage an unrelated, lawful medical cannabis program against compact discussions is improper. We look forward to the administration’s written position and we will respond through the proper channels.”
The tribe’s attorney general previously claimed that the state is using its efforts to legalize marijuana as an excuse to suspend negotiations on the tobacco tax deal.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM), a campaign that’s led the charge to legalize medical marijuana statewide, also reacted to the governor and attorney general’s comments about tribal sovereignty around cannabis.
It said that the “threats from Governor Pillen and Attorney General Hilgers regarding the Omaha Tribe’s plans to move forward with providing medical cannabis are an attempt to intimidate patients and caregivers, undermine tribal sovereignty, and are unbecoming of government officials.”
“The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska is exercising its rights as a sovereign nation. Their actions are lawful under federal law and tribal authority, and reflect a commitment to serve the patients and families who continue to suffer,” NMM said, adding that the officials’ comments “create a dangerous narrative” that imply the state “will use taxpayer funding to go after people exercising their legal rights as Nebraskans, even when it is contrary to the will of the very people that elected them.”
“They are choosing to weaponize their offices to score political points and delay relief for suffering Nebraskans. This is not leadership and it surely does not uphold the values that Governor Pillen claims to stand for,” the campaign said.
“Instead of doubling down on hostility and fear, Nebraska’s leaders should focus on fulfilling their constitutional duty—implementing a safe, regulated, and functional medical cannabis system. This is what voters demanded, and patients desperately deserve. The state’s role is to implement the will of the voters, not to intimidate patients or undermine tribal sovereignty.”
This comes as Nebraska officials are facing broader criticism over attempts to significantly scale back a voter-approved medical marijuana law.
But the Omaha tribe is moving forward with its adult-use program nonetheless, approving its first license for a vertically integrated cannabis operation since approving legalization in its borders earlier this year.
At its first meeting in July, the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission discussed proposed rules to stand up the tribal marijuana market. They also agreed to license the tribe itself to move forward with next steps in setting up the industry for launch.
The draft rules weren’t adopted at the meeting, but the tribe’s attorney general, John Cartier, said that in time he wants the territory to “stand as a direct contrast to that dysfunction and show that the will of the voters is being respected, at least on the Omaha Reservation.”
“We’re prepared to move forward to grant access to the folks that need help through medical cannabis,” he said.
Under the legalization code that the tribe adopted in July—making it the first to enact such a reform in a state where lawmakers have long resisted the policy change—adults 21 and older can purchase and possess up to an ounce of cannabis as long as they’re on the tribal land.
While the tribe approved a vertically integrated license for its own purposes to help streamline the implementation of legalization in the territory, it’s unclear when the regulatory rules will go up for a vote and open up opportunities for legal sales.
The commission will be meeting once a month, and it’s expected that at least some of the proposed regulations will be approved when members come together again in November.
“We want to stand as a direct contrast to that dysfunction [at the state level] and show that the will of the voters is being respected, at least on the Omaha Reservation, and we’re prepared to move forward to grant access to the folks that need help through medical cannabis,” the tribe’s attorney general said last month.
He’s not alone is the criticism. Advocates have strongly pushed back against the state after a governor-appointed panel put forward proposed rules for the medical cannabis market, including prohibitive purchasing limits.
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While the state approved its first medical cannabis business license to a cultivator, there is still no lawful means for patients to access products yet.
Meanwhile, last month Nebraska activists have filed an initiative to legalize marijuana and establish a constitutional right to use cannabis for adult over the age of 21. If organizers collect enough valid signatures from registered voters, it could appear on the 2026 ballot.
The marijuana reform push also comes as the state attorney general is cracking down on sales of intoxicating hemp-derived products, including those containing delta-8 THC.
Las year’s approval of two medical marijuana ballot measures came after an earlier attempt in 2020 gathered enough signatures for ballot placement, but saw the measure invalidated by the state Supreme Court following a single-subject challenge. Supporters then came up short on signatures for revised petitions in 2022 due in large part to the loss of funding after one of their key donors died in a plane crash.
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
