Tag: Nebraska

Nebraska Legalizes Medical Marijuana

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Medical marijuana is now legal in the state of Nebraska after voters approved a measure on Tuesday.
Two medical marijuana ballot measures were on the Nebraska ballot; 70.7% of voters approved Initiative Measure 437, and 66.9% approved Initiative Measure 438, media reports.
Initiative Measure 437 establishes a new statute that will allow the use, possession, and acquisition of up to 5 ounces of cannabis for medical purposes by a qualified patient with a written recommendation from a health care practitioner. The statute will also allow a caregiver to assist a qualified patient with these activities.
Initiative Measure 438 establishes a new statute that makes penalties inapplicable under state law for the possession, manufacture, distribution, delivery, and dispensing of cannabis for medical purposes by registered private entities. The statute will also establish a Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to regulate such activities.
November 7, 2024
Nebraska Lawmaker Introduces Vaping Tax Bill
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Lawmakers in Nebraska have introduced legislation to increase the tax on vaping products.
The tax on electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products will be 40 percent of the purchase price of the device if the bill becomes law.
The tax is to be paid by the first owner or at a price at which the first owner who made, manufactured, or fabricated the ENDS product sells the item to others, the proposed bill states.
For ENDS products in the possession of retail dealers for which tax has not been paid, the bill states that the tax shall be imposed at the earliest time the retail dealer “brings or causes to be brought into the state” any ENDS device for sale.
The bill is currently with the Revenue Committee in Nebraska’s House of Representatives.
July 30, 2024
New Vaping Regulations Begin Across Nebraska

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Nebraska is taking on new statewide vape regulations with a registry law that went into effect on July 19.
It’s a double-edged law: one side, trying to keep electronic nicotine devices out of the hands of children, another aiming at broader consumer protections. The law prohibits vapes with advertisements targeting kids, like those with cartoon characters or ones that look like school supplies.
“When I went around the state and met with law enforcement, I would always ask, ‘What is the top issues you’re seeing?’” Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said. “And one of the top five issues I saw around the state and heard from them were vapes in the hands of children, hands of kids,” according to media reports.
The other side of the law aims to protect consumers from potentially harmful chemicals. It will set up a registry through the Department of Revenue. Companies will have to pay $75 for each type or model of vape device to get on the registry. By October 2025, it will be against the law to sell any product not on that list.
“I think that what it will do is weed out the good actors from the bad actors,” said Sarah Linden, owner of Generation V. Linden helped work on the regulations, aiming to destigmatize an industry she said is designed to help people stop smoking.
July 22, 2024
Nebraska Bill Would Create Vape Registry, More Tax

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Nebraska is seeking to join the growing number of states that have created a registry of authorized vaping products retailers can sell.
State Sen. Jana Hughes sponsored a successful bill last year that implemented a 5-cent-per-militer excise tax on disposable vape liquids and a 10 percent wholesale tax on other electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS) products that began Jan. 1.
She has returned this year with Legislative Bill 1296, to regulate vaping products through a vape registry and increase the tax on wholesale products to 20 percent.
Earlier this month, lawmakers advanced LB 1296 by attaching it to LB 1204 — a General Affairs Committee priority bill — and advanced the package again Friday. It is awaiting one final round of debate.
Hughes told media that in the United States, there’s a perception that products sold in retail outlets are safe. However, she said, the federal government, which is supposed to be responsible for product regulation and safety, has dropped the ball.
“If they get their stuff together … then we’re done,” Hughes said of her bill. “But they’re not doing it.”
Hughes said she had amended her legislation in part with the help of “reputable” vape shops and would have manufacturers list their chemicals, allowing easier regulation and seizure if needed. The senator said this could also prevent imports of products from outside the country, where 99.9 percent of all vaping products are produced.
Her proposal is not meant to be a moneymaker or a money sucker, she said, but to create an even “wash” between fees assessed on the vape industry and oversight costs.
“But that’s the hard part: This is brand-new territory,” Hughes said.
Under her bill, an application for certification would cost $75 for each type or model of electronic nicotine delivery system sold in Nebraska instead of $250 per system. Hughes noted that lawmakers may need to extend the debate one more time if the fiscal estimate isn’t a “wash.”
Hughes’ bill would also require in-person pickup of vape products and end mail delivery for purchases made online or over the phone.
The bill also has provisions meant to crack down on advertising targeted at minors, outlawing ads or packaging that depict a cartoon-like fictional character that mimics a character primarily aimed at entertaining minors, imitating or mimicking trademarks or trade dress of products that are or have been primarily marketed to minors, or including an image of a celebrity.
March 18, 2024
Nebraska Seeks Vape Product List, End Online Sales

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The General Affairs Committee in Nebraska heard testimony on a bill that its sponsors say seeks to reduce access to vaping devices by minors in Nebraska.
LB1296, introduced by Seward Sen. Jana Hughes, would prohibit the sale of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved.
Violations would be considered a deceptive trade practice under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. The state aims to use the same list that is used by states that have passed similar laws, such as Alabama and Louisiana, according to a release.
Devices that are pending approval from the FDA would be authorized for sale under the bill, but online sales of ENDS, regardless of FDA approval, would be prohibited.
“We have a serious problem on our hands that threatens to undermine the progress made over the past 40 years in reducing the use of nicotine products by our kids,” Hughes said.
LB1296 also would create a directory of ENDS manufacturers who have received or sought FDA approval. Beginning April 1, 2025, each manufacturer must register with the state tax commissioner and pay a $500 initial certification fee per device and $500 annually.
Payments received would be directed to the state Department of Revenue to reimburse the cost of enforcing the bill’s provisions.
The committee took no immediate action on LB1296.
Louisiana’s passed a law that bans retailers from selling vape products not listed on a state-approved registry, known as the V.A.P.E. Directory. Alabama and Florida use the same list.
To receive authorization, products need a marketing order from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or must meet one of several narrow exceptions, which favor products that have been on the market since at least 2016.
The state’s Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) released its list of nearly 400 approved vape products
February 9, 2024
Nebraska Lawmakers Propose 20% Tax on Vapes

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Nebraska lawmakers have proposed Legislative Bill 584 would impose an excise tax of 5 cents per milliliter of consumable vaping material, though the senator said she is working on an amendment that would make the tax a percentage of the sales price, perhaps 20 percent.
State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward, who called it “hooey” that vaping was safer than smoking cigarettes, despite several scientific studies stating otherwise, proposed the bill in to protect children from the dangers of vaping.
Nebraska is one of 20 states that do not, as of Jan. 1, impose an excise tax on vaping products, according to the Urban Institute, according to Nebraska Public Radio.
Hughes said all other products containing nicotine must pay an excise tax. Nebraska, for instance, imposes a 64-cent per pack excise tax on cigarettes.
Earlier this year, Nebraska lawmakers proposed a law that would limit localities in how they regulate electronic smoking devices.
March 5, 2023
Lincoln, Neb. Vape Shop Crime a Growing Concern
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Update: The Lincoln Police Department is investigating a break-in at another vape shop on Tuesday. LPD said officers were dispatched to an alarm and responding officers found a glass door was shattered and the suspects got inside the business, according to news reports.
Lincoln, Nebraska has a problem with burglaries at vape shops. This weekend, employees at another Lincoln smoke shop arrived to work to find the front door shattered and thousands of dollars in vape products stolen.
On Saturday at 10:30 a.m., Lincoln police were called to SJ’s Smoke Shop near 31st and O Streets after employees reported the front glass door shattered, according to news reports.
Surveillance video shows two people using a rock to break the front door. LPD says they took multiple pipes and vape products worth roughly $5,000. The damage to the building is also estimated at $5,000.
During an editorial on the rise in vape shop crime by Vapor Voice, Lincoln, Nebraska stood out as having a high number of vape shop crimes. Research suggests that in 2021 more than 40 vape shops burglaries occurred in Lincoln.
A spokesperson for LPD said that vape shops often carry expensive products that are small and hard to trace. This makes vape shops, especially those carrying delta-8, CBD and other cannabis products, high value targets for criminals. The products are in high demand on the black market, LPD said.
Richard Marianos, a senior law enforcement consultant and adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University, says regulatory constraints often have the unintended consequence of boosting crime rates, adding that taxes and flavor bans bring prohibition, and prohibition brings crime.
“These regulatory actions mean a dramatic increase in street sales to kids, and that is what we have seen all over the United States,” said Marianos. “In terms of law enforcement, the issue is that there has been 150 percent increase in smash-and-grabs because of the difficulty of purchasing these products.”
March 22, 2022
Nebraska Bill Would Ban Local Vape Ordinances
A new bill introduced in Nebraska would limit localities in how they regulate electronic smoking devices under a bill heard Feb. 17 by the state senate’s Health and Human Services Committee. LB954, introduced by Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne, would prohibit counties and municipalities from adopting ordinances or resolutions regarding electronic smoking devices that are more restrictive than the provisions of the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act.
This would include banning certain smoking devices or flavors, according to state’s legislative website. Wayne said the bill would prevent a “patchwork” of vaping regulations across the state. “It would make it easier for the industry to provide their services to their customers,” he said.
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Sarah Linden, president of the Nebraska Vape Venders Association, testified in support of the bill. She said the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act allows vape shop customers to sample products, but Lincoln and Grand Island have ordinances banning indoor vaping in all circumstances.
LB954 would standardize the law across the state and enable customers to try out various products before they purchase them. “There’s nothing worse than buying something and deciding you don’t like it once you get home,” Linden said.
Dave Watts, president of the Nebraska Medical Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. He said state law should apply equally to vaping and cigarettes. “Vaping devices don’t simply emit harmless water vapor … heating the substances in the chamber of a vaping device creates an aerosol,” Watts said. “Unlike water vapor, that aerosol contains nicotine — ultra-fine particles that can worsen asthma — and toxins that are known to cause cancer.”
Maggie Ballard of Heartland Family Service also testified in opposition to LB954. She said nicotine is a “pilot light” for other addictions and that individuals with substance abuse disorders are better off without it. “Community members want to see less vaping, not more,” Ballard said.
Also in opposition was Lash Chaffin of the League of Nebraska Municipalities. He said the bill would take away a municipality’s ability to regulate vaping as it sees fit. The committee took no immediate action on LB954.
February 20, 2022
Nebraska City Seeing Spike in Vape Shop Robberies
Nebraska has seen a spike in vape shop robberies recently as thieves target CBD and Delta-8 THC products. On July 10, in Lincoln, Nebraska, Between 2 and 5 a.m., the Lincoln Police Department (LPD) responded to reports and alarms at two businesses — Cloud 9 Smoke Shop and CBD Remedies — where officers found shattered storefront glass at both locations, according to Officer Luke Bonkiewicz.
The Lincoln Journal Star reports that in both cases, burglars gained entry into the businesses — after causing $500 in damage to each storefront, Bonkiewicz said — and made off with product from inside the shops. The owner of Cloud 9, near 11th and F streets, is still conducting inventory to determine what exactly burglars took. The same is true at CBD Remedies, near Normal Boulevard and South 48th Street, where burglars set off an alarm upon entry at 4:48 a.m. Friday.
The pair of break-ins comes two days after another similar burglary, totaling three in as many days. LPD discovered a broken window at Generation V E-Cigarettes and Vape Bar around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, where the owner of the business near Holdrege Street and North Cotner Boulevard reported a preliminary loss of $2,000, Officer Erin Spilker said.
The latest three break-ins follow at least two others in recent months that seem to align with those investigated this week. But the uptick that seems to involve the same group of burglars could date further back than this calendar year.
Timothy Goodman, a manager at the Lincoln Vapor location hit by burglars in May, said that break-in was just the latest in a string of six incidents in the last year or more. Goodman said it’s his understanding that every break-in can be linked to the same group.
Goodman, who has worked at Lincoln Vapor for nearly four years, said a group of burglars stole $2,000-$3,000 worth of merchandise in May and have lifted around $16,000 in products from the business in the last year and a half. The majority of products were hardware and cannabis products such as CBD and Delta-8 THC. “It’s frustrating beyond belief,” Goodman said. “I wake up most nights in the middle of the night and check the cameras to make sure nobody got in.”
July 11, 2021
Nebraska’s New Indoor Vaping Ban Takes Effect on Saturday

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An expanded Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act will go into effect on Saturday, Nov. 14 which will prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes in most indoor workplaces.
According to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the act includes office buildings, manufacturing facilities, retail stores, restaurants, bars, etc. It does not include electronic smoking device retail outlets or vape shops from the indoor e-cigarette restriction.
This is a change after LB 840 was passed earlier this year, according to nebraskatv.com.
“This change is about protecting Nebraskans from exposure to secondhand aerosol from e-cigarettes. It is also a great time to try, or retry, quitting e-cigarettes or tobacco,” said Program Manager for Tobacco Free Nebraska Amanda Mortensen. “Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW to talk to a quit coach and get a little extra help with a free two-week supply of the patch, gum or lozenge.”
November 11, 2020