Nebraska Officials Respond to Omaha Tribe’s Cannabis Retaliation Claims

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R), at a press event on Thursday, addressed recent claims by the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska that the state was scrapping a tobacco tax compact with the tribe over its medical and adult-use cannabis reforms, the Nebraska Examiner reports.

The governor said he is “not into the mood of negotiation” on a tribal tobacco tax compact due to concerns that the tribe will pursue adult-use cannabis reforms after implementing its medical cannabis program.

The tobacco tax compact would give the tribe access to a significant portion of the tobacco tax revenue collected on tribal lands, which currently goes to the state, in exchange for taking on regulatory duties.

“My view is really simple: There’s not going to be Nebraskans going into the Omaha Tribe and buying recreational marijuana. We’ll take whatever steps it is to keep our state in the values and keep that from happening.” — Pillen, in the report

Hilgers, meanwhile, called the tribe’s medical cannabis program unlawful despite its unanimous approval by the Tribal Council last July, where leaders also voted to legalize adult-use cannabis.

Omaha Tribe of Nebraska Attorney General John Cartier said in a statement following the press event that officials have no legal means of preventing the tribe — recognized as a sovereign nation under federal law — from implementing its own cannabis policies, calling the state’s attempt to use a “lawful medical cannabis program” as leverage during unrelated negotiations “improper.”

“The people of Nebraska and the Omaha Tribe deserve decisions grounded in the actual law, not partisan or personal crusades,” Cartier said.