Survey: Support for Adult-Use Cannabis Reforms Rises in Nebraska  

Support for adult-use cannabis legalization in Nebraska is now 47%, according to the Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey from The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Rural Drug Addiction Research Center. The level marks an increase from the 44% support measured by the survey in 2024. 

The survey also found 84% of Nebraskans backed medical cannabis reforms, up from the 80% measured by the survey in 2024, when 71% of voters passed a ballot initiative legalizing a medical cannabis program in the state. 

According to the survey, 15% of respondents said they had traveled out of state to purchase cannabis legally in another state in 2026, a 4% increase from the 2024 survey.  

In a statement, Patrick Habecker, research assistant professor with the center and co-author of the report, said he thought it was “interesting to see how many people were engaging in” obtaining cannabis products from out of state.  

“I think we’re in an interesting place right now, especially for Nebraska, in that there isn’t a legal recreational market, nor an operating medical market, but there are a lot of dispensaries who operate out of that farm bill loophole. If that loophole closes and those dispensaries can no longer operate in the same way, are we going to see more people move to an illicit market within the state? Are more people going to be crossing state borders to purchase cannabis, or will people use less?” — Habecker in a press release 

Use of delta-8 and other hemp-derived THC products among survey respondents also increased from 8% in 2024 to 10% this year.   

The survey also found more support for adult and medical cannabis reforms in metropolitan areas (Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island and Sioux City), where 54% said they were in favor; compared to only 35% in micropolitan areas (Fremont, Norfolk, Columbus, Beatrice, Hastings, Kearney, Lexington, North Platte and Scottsbluff), and 32% in all other counties.