A Nebraska bill would criminalize hemp-based THC. Opponents say it could
make grandma a felon
[May 06, 2025]
By MARGERY A. BECK
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Kind Life Dispensary has been offering cannabinoid
gummies, tinctures, ointments, now even canned beverages for seven years
as one of the first businesses in Nebraska to offer such products.
Founder and co-owner Andrea Watkins said her venture has been wildly
successful, and she now has three locations in Nebraska's capital city
that employ eight people and sell to hundreds of regulars who use the
products to treat everything from aches and pains to anxiety and post
traumatic stress disorder.
But now, she's worried her livelihood will crumble as a bill winding its
way through the Nebraska Legislature would outlaw most of the products
she sells.
The Nebraska bill would criminalize the sale and possession of an array
of products containing hemp-based tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the
same compound that gives marijuana its psychoactive properties. Any
product containing more than a total weight of 0.3% THC or more than 10
milligrams total per package would be outlawed.
“If that bill becomes law? We would have to close,” Watkins said
recently at her flagship store that looks like a cross between a
pharmacy and a spa.
She suspects many of the more than 300 businesses across the state
offering similar products since hemp was legalized under the 2018
federal farm bill could face the same fate. That farm bill created a
legal loophole that allows manufacturers to synthesize THC from hemp
plants and sell it in products where marijuana isn't legal to sell.
As the bill is currently written, it would even ban topical products
like THC-containing lotions and creams intended to dull joint and muscle
pains, leading opponents to accuse the bill's sponsors of making
criminals of grandparents seeking a treatment for arthritis.
“What happens to all the grannies who have some kind of CBD with delta-8
in the back of their medicine cabinet?” Omaha Sen. Wendy DeBoer asked
during recent debate on the Nebraska bill, adding that the bill would
“make felons of all the grannies” using products with hemp-based THC for
aching joints.
The Nebraska bill includes a grace period through the end of 2025 to
allow people who have such products to dispose of them.
The debate over cannabinoid products
Republican lawmakers behind Nebraska's bill say it's needed to protect
people — especially children — from dangerous products that use
synthetic cannabinoids “masquerading as hemp” and are infused into food
and drink with candy and fruit flavors. Several lawmakers relayed
accounts of children and others suffering ill effects and even
hospitalization after consuming products containing synthesized THC.
But those amount to scare tactics that mischaracterize the benefits of
the products, said Dr. Andrea Holmes, an expert in organic chemistry
with an emphasis in cannabis. Holmes is a co-owner of Kind Life
Dispensaries and has traveled the country promoting regulated cannabis
and cannabinoid products.
“What they leave out in these cases they talk about is that the person
has also taken some other substance or has some underlying problem that
leads to their condition,” Holmes said. “Our products aren't dangerous.”
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Andrea Watkins, co-owner of Kind Life Dispensary business, that
sells an array of products containing hemp-based THC, poses for a
photo in Lincoln, Neb., May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Margery Beck)
 Opponents of the bill say it is part
of a yearslong effort by state Republicans — including Nebraska
Attorney General Mike Hilgers — to criminalize hemp products and
thwart growing efforts to legalize marijuana both in Nebraska and
across the country. Dozens of states have legalized marijuana for
medical or recreational use. In November, voters in Nebraska
overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana use.
“We need to look at that fact. Most people want these types of
products,” Holmes said.
A proposal for regulation in place of a ban
So far, Nebraska lawmakers have rejected efforts by Omaha state Sen.
John Cavanaugh, a Democrat, to supplant the ban bill with a measure
that would require strict regulation of hemp-based consumables, as
several other states have done. The Nebraska Hemp Industries
Association supports Cavanaugh's effort to regulate the industry.
Cavanaugh and supporters of his measure say banning hemp products at
a time when the state is suffering dramatic revenue shortfalls would
just hit state coffers harder.
Hemp-derived cannabinoid businesses employ more than 1,600 people in
Nebraska and provide a tax revenue potential of nearly $8 million to
the state, Cavanaugh said, citing figures from the 2023 U.S.
National Cannabinoid Report.
Nebraska attorney general homes in on cannabinoid product sellers
Despite the decriminalization of hemp and voters' approval of some
marijuana use, Hilgers has been crisscrossing the state targeting
businesses that sell hemp-based cannabinoid products. Many shops
have received cease-and-desist letters. Some have been subject to
raids by law enforcement. Hilgers insists he's protecting the public
from dangerous products and unscrupulous dealers trading in plain
sight.
“With our new complaints, we are ramping up our efforts to clean up
Nebraska,” Hilgers said in September, when he sued four businesses
in Norfolk selling hemp-based consumables. “These stores are
misleading Nebraskans. Not one of the products we tested were
accurately labeled, and many contained controlled substances.”
Nebraska is far from alone in the push to restrict access to
consumable hemp and other THC products. It joins a slew of other
states where similar efforts to regulate, criminalize or ban such
products, including Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Texas.
But Democratic-led states also have led efforts to restrict
hemp-derived products. In California, where recreational marijuana
use is legal and heavily regulated and taxed, regulators issued a
ban last year on food and beverage products with hemp-derived THC,
citing health concerns.
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