An advertisement from independent Nebraska Senate candidate Dan Osborn’s campaign is drawing attention to Senator Pete Ricketts’ past opposition to marijuana legalization, including remarks the Republican made while serving as governor.
The spot features a 2021 comment from Ricketts, who warned that legalizing marijuana could have deadly consequences for children. He made the statement during a news conference held as Nebraska lawmakers considered a proposal to legalize medical marijuana.
That bill did not pass. Three years later, however, Nebraskans approved ballot initiatives establishing a framework for medical marijuana.
Osborn’s latest advertisement begins with Ricketts’ earlier remarks about cannabis but largely shifts its focus to Medicaid spending. The campaign accuses Ricketts of supporting reductions in Medicaid funding while accepting insurance companies’ political donations.
Marijuana policy has nevertheless been a recurring issue in Osborn’s campaign. His website says he supports implementing the medical marijuana measures approved by voters and accuses Ricketts of working against them.
Osborn has also expressed support for broader changes to marijuana laws, arguing that people should not face imprisonment simply for using cannabis. He has questioned the effectiveness of existing restrictions, saying illegal marijuana can be easier for teenagers to obtain than alcohol.
Ricketts has maintained a consistently restrictive position on marijuana. In 2021, while governor, he appeared in an advertisement produced with a Nebraska chapter of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a group that opposes legalization.
In that campaign, Ricketts argued that labeling marijuana as a medical product did not make it comparable to conventional medicine because physicians could not prescribe cannabis through the standard pharmaceutical system. He also warned that efforts to establish medical marijuana would eventually lead to recreational legalization.
Since entering the U.S. Senate, Ricketts has continued to oppose several federal cannabis policy changes.
He has criticized the Trump administration’s effort to reconsider marijuana’s federal classification and has backed legislation concerning the tax treatment of cannabis companies. One measure he cosponsored would preserve restrictions under Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, which prevents businesses trafficking in federally controlled substances from deducting certain expenses.
Ricketts has also opposed proposals designed to give state-licensed cannabis companies greater access to traditional banking services.
The competing positions put marijuana policy among the issues separating the two Senate candidates. Osborn has presented cannabis reform as a matter of voter choice, medical access, and criminal justice, while Ricketts has argued that legalization carries risks for public health and communities.
The marijuana movement, including firms such as Green Thumb Industries Inc. (CSE: GTII) (OTCQX: GTBIF), will be watching to see which candidate’s views on cannabis win the hearts and ballots of voters in November.
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