Nebraska Medical Cannabis Growers Push State To Ease Testing Fees And Shield Doctors

Cultivators Petition The Commission

Nebraska’s four licensed medical cannabis cultivators sent a joint letter to the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission on October 15. The letter urges the commission to address testing, fees and legal protections for healthcare providers.

The signers are Dustin Krajewski of Meadowlark Medicinals LLC, former state Sen. Kent Rogert of KRL Med LLC, Pat Thomas of MahāMotā Cultivation Co. and Robert Wagner of Midwest Cultivators Group. Under the commission’s regulations, only four cultivators can be licensed.

The cultivators want clarity on laboratory licensing and who may transport samples. “We request an update to the current proposed regulations that provide clarification of the licensing or authorization process, who may transport samples to a laboratory, how transportation and manifest requirements apply to those transfers and whether out-of-state laboratories may be used,” the cultivators said in their letter.

A MahāMotā representative said Monday the company is still on track to harvest this year. But the company sees no path for testing facilities to legally receive, possess or test its plant.

MahāMotā, near Raymond, planted despite delays from the commission. The Legislature did not authorize the commission to assess fees until April.

Fee Concerns And Revenue Timing

The proposed fee structure calls for “$36,500 in annual costs, before required bond premiums and other compliance costs,” the letter states. That includes $23,500 to renew the license each year and $13,000 for the commission-authorized seed-to-sale inventory tracking system.

The companies said the fees should reflect the program’s “operational readiness” and licensees’ ability to “lawfully bring products to market.” They argue operators have no viable path to revenue yet.

“We ask the Commission to consider the time current operators will need to reach revenue, accounting for any necessary laboratory licensing or authorization and the issuance of manufacturer and dispensary licenses,” the letter states.

The commission is refusing to grant more licenses until it can assess fees for future licenses. It had already been working to finalize a prior set of regulations.

The cultivators also called on the Nebraska Legislature to provide clear legal protections for physicians who recommend the medicine. They called such a law “essential to encouraging practitioner participation, supporting patient access and sustaining Nebraska’s medical cannabis industry.”

Commission Response And Status

Commissioner Lorelle Mueting, interim commission chair, said the regulatory process has been the commission’s “primary concern,” so she couldn’t speak to the testing concerns. She instead pointed to MahāMotā’s timing.

“Every cultivator assured us that they could store product and that wasn’t a problem, and there was no reason to delay planting because storage was a viable option,” Mueting said.

The MahāMotā representative said the company assumed a smaller time frame, maybe three to six months. Mueting said the commission never gave that estimate.

“I understand that it may degrade and all those things,” Mueting continued, “but I feel like those were things that possibly you knew or the owner of the company knew going in.”

Nebraska voters approved legalizing and regulating medical cannabis in November 2024. Bills to protect recommending physicians failed to pass in 2025 and 2026.

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