An Omaha state senator filed a complaint after the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission missed a critical deadline. The group was supposed to start rolling out cannabis registrations Oct. 1. In a multi-page complaint, state Sen. John Cavanaugh outlines all the ways he believes the commission is "violating the spirit of the ballot initiative legalizing medical cannabis."His concerns mainly surround what Cavanaugh calls "restrictive" emergency regulations. Some of those regulations include placing limits on the amount of cannabis and the delivery mechanisms, and creating a "very restrictive process for doctors to make a recommendation."Cavanaugh said they also placed regulations on the amount of medical marijuana, one person can purchase and possess at a time. "The law of the state, Nebraska says you can possess up to five ounces. and the commission limited it to five grams in a 90-day period, which is way below that," Cavanaugh said. "People can legally possess a lot more, but they won't be able to actually purchase more because of the restrictions of the commission."Cavanaugh said the commission's slow progress will create a crisis, and he believes their actions and inactions are undermining the voice of the voters. "The Medical Cannabis Commission has had ten months at this point to create regulations and to issue licenses. They have failed to do both," Cavanaugh said. Per state law, Cavanaugh's complaint was filed with the chair of the executive board, state senator Ben Hansen. Hansen said Cavanaugh raises legitimate concerns in his complaint, and by failing to roll out cannabis registrations by the Oct. 1 deadline could lead to legal trouble. "This may even possibly open up the state to a potential lawsuit because of the delay," Hansen said. Hansen said outside of a special session, there isn't much the full legislature can do right now. "We had our opportunity earlier this year, with a bill that I introduced to put all the rules and regulations in place for medical cannabis in the state of Nebraska," Hansen said. "And since that did not go through, and we were leaving it up to this commission, some of the concerns that I had and others about the commission are kind of starting to come to fruition a little bit."Cavanaugh requested a hearing on Oct. 31 to discuss his concerns. The General Affairs committee is already scheduled to meet that day for an interim study on the current state of medical cannabis. "There should already be the relevant parties should be there," Cavanaugh said. "So I'm asking that we have that hearing on the violation of the spirit of the law at the same time."Hansen said the next step is for him to forward the complaint to the General Affairs Committee, and they will be responsible for deciding if Cavanaugh's request for a hearing is granted. "The commission believes the proposed regulations are both lawful and within the discretion of the commission. The commission will continue to work diligently to effectuate the statute while balancing public safety," the commission said in a statement to KETV.The next meeting for the Medical Cannabis Commission is Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. KETV did reach out to the governor and the General Affairs committee for comment but have not heard back yet. NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |