Nebraska Cannabis Advertising Laws

Nebraska's medical cannabis regulations became permanent in July 2026. The sections reviewed contain no advertising provision. What they do contain are a prohibition on giving away or transferring cannabis as part of a promotional event, detailed signage specifications for cultivators, a 1,000 foot siting separation from covered locations, and a narrow list of allowable product forms that excludes raw flower, anything inhaled, and all food and drink.

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A licensed programme exists and the regulations contain no advertising prohibition in the sections reviewed. They also contain no advertising permission, no disclosure requirement and no audience standard. The constraints that do apply are the promotional-event prohibition at 13.01, the product form limits at 13.09, the patient data restriction at 12.08(D), and the signage specifications at 14.05.

Nebraska voters approved two measures in November 2024. Initiative 437 removes penalties for qualifying patients who possess, use and acquire medical cannabis, and for caregivers assisting them. Initiative 438, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act, creates the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to license and regulate private businesses. Governor Pillen signed proclamations putting both into law on December 12, 2024.

Regulation sits in Title 238 of the Nebraska Administrative Code, Chapter 1, Registered Cannabis Establishments, made under Neb. Rev. Stat. Section 71-24,111.

The regulations are now permanent. After a period operating under successive 90-day emergency rules, the Commission's permanent regulations were approved by Attorney General Hilgers on June 30, 2026 and by Governor Pillen on July 1, 2026, taking effect five days after filing. The Nebraska Supreme Court has since unanimously upheld the voter-approved laws.

There is no advertising section in the sections reviewed. Chapter 1 runs through application processes, licence types, renewal, denial, sanctions, appeals, management standards, dispensary requirements, cultivator requirements, product manufacturer requirements and testing. Sections 01 through 16 contain no advertising or marketing provision. Several provisions nonetheless bear directly on marketing, and this page records those.

Nebraska is medical only. There is no adult-use programme and no second advertising framework.

This page is part of our state-by-state cannabis advertising laws library, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The promotional event prohibition

Under 13.01, a dispensary may only possess, sell or transfer cannabis for medical purposes, and shall not give away or otherwise offer or transfer cannabis as part of a promotional event.

The provision reaches giving away, offering and transferring. It is drafted around the product rather than around the communication, so it governs the mechanic rather than the advertisement.

Business name and licence number

No advertising requirement appears in the sections reviewed. Under 12.04 a licensee shall possess and maintain a copy of the licence in a conspicuous place visible to the public on the licensed premises. Under 14.05 cultivator signage must carry the cultivator licence number.

The required warning statements

None appears in the sections reviewed. Labelling duties attach to the product: under 13.04(A), all medical cannabis sold or transferred by a dispensary must have an affixed label including the name of the qualified patient, the recommending health care practitioner, the name of the dispensary, the dispensary's address and phone number, and the name of the medical cannabis product.

How the warnings have to appear

Not applicable, as none are required for advertising in the sections reviewed.

When the warnings are not required

Not applicable. There is no advertising disclosure requirement to disapply.

Hotline number

No requirement appears in the sections reviewed.

Prohibited content

No advertising content list appears in the sections reviewed. Two product provisions reach imagery and naming:

• Under 13.09(B)(vii), no product or packaging which would reasonably cause confusion as to whether the cannabis product is a food product
• Under 13.09(B)(viii), no product in the shape of a human, animal, or marijuana leaf

Those are product and packaging standards. Under 15.07(A), a manufacturer must register each product with the Commission and submit the product package design and the product label as part of registration, so packaging passes through Commission review.

Marketing constraints recorded elsewhere

Commission material has been reported as restricting marketing that targets minors and the use of celebrity images and likenesses. Neither provision appears in sections 01 through 16 of the adopted regulations reviewed for this page. Confirm the source and current status of both with the Commission before relying on them.

Product form restrictions

Under 13.09(A), the allowable forms are oral tablets with or without flavoured coating, capsules or tinctures; gels, oils, creams or other topical preparations; suppositories; transdermal patches; nasal spray; and liquids or oils for administration using a nebulizer or inhaler.

Under 13.09(B), the following are not allowed: raw plant material; any product administered by smoking, combustion or vaping; any product containing artificial flavouring, natural flavouring or colouring; a food or drink that has cannabis baked, mixed or otherwise infused into it; any product including a synthetic cannabinoid substance; any product exceeding 60 percent Total THC or a dose of 40 mg per dose; any product or packaging causing confusion as to whether it is a food product; any product in the shape of a human, animal or marijuana leaf; any tobacco, alcohol or other intoxicating substance; and any product not registered with the Commission.

Creative or menu content referencing flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles or beverages describes product categories Nebraska does not allow.

Patient data

Under 12.08(D), licensees shall maintain all patient data in a secured database complying with state and federal law, and shall not provide any patient data to any other party except the Commission, its agents and employees, any party licensed by the Commission, or a registered healthcare practitioner. This reaches audience lists, custom audiences and data shared with agencies or platforms.

Under 12.19(A), personnel records must document privacy and confidentiality training covering protection of patient identities and registration status, restrictions on access to and disclosure of nonpublic information, and limitations on employee access.

Discounts, coupons, and price promotion

No price advertising or discount provision appears in the sections reviewed, beyond the promotional event prohibition at 13.01. Under 13.15(B)(iv), sales invoices must record the cost to the purchaser together with any discount applied to the price as shown on the invoice, which contemplates discounting at the transaction level.

Pre-approval

No advertising pre-approval appears in the sections reviewed. Product registration under 15.07(A) requires submission of package design and label, and registrations expire one year after submission.

What the Law Requires

No advertising age standard appears in the sections reviewed. The programme ages are set elsewhere in the chapter:

• Under 13.05, a dispensary shall only sell or transfer to a qualified patient who is 18 years of age or older holding a valid unexpired written recommendation
• Under 13.06, a patient under 18 is served through a caregiver who is the legal guardian or parent, or a person designated by them
• Under 12.05, no licensee shall allow any individual under the age of 18 on or in any licensed premises
• Under 04.07(D), a licence shall not be issued to a person under the age of majority, which in Nebraska is 19

Eighteen is the operative patient and premises age. Nineteen is the licensing age.

Audience Percentage Thresholds

No audience composition percentage appears in the sections reviewed. This records the sections reviewed rather than a confirmed absence across the whole chapter. Other states do set one: Connecticut requires reliable evidence that at least 90 percent of the audience is 21 or older, and Delaware requires at least 85 percent.

Event sponsorship

No audience threshold specific to event sponsorship appears in the sections reviewed. Under 13.01 a dispensary may not give away or otherwise offer or transfer cannabis as part of a promotional event, which closes product sampling at events.

Where the burden sits

On the licensee. Under 12.08(A) licensees are responsible for the security of all medical cannabis items, and under 12.15 a licensee must notify the Commission within three business days of the initiation or conclusion of any citation, fine, judgment, lawsuit, legal proceeding, charge or government investigation involving cannabis-related operations, in Nebraska or any other state.

Age Gating and Consent

Websites

No website age gate or age verification requirement appears in the sections reviewed.

Direct communication

No age affirmation requirement appears in the sections reviewed. The patient data restriction at 12.08(D) constrains who a licensee may share patient information with.

Location-based devices

No location-based device provision appears in the sections reviewed.

Established customers

No exception appears in the sections reviewed. Communication with patients remains subject to 12.08(D).

Premises

Under 12.05 no individual under 18 may be on or in any licensed premises, which is an access control rather than an advertising provision.

People Depicted in Ads

No casting restriction, minimum talent age, cartoon or mascot rule, or prohibition on depicting consumption appears in the sections reviewed.

Two product provisions reach imagery indirectly. Under 13.09(B)(viii) no product may be in the shape of a human, animal or marijuana leaf. Under 13.09(B)(vii) no product or packaging may reasonably cause confusion as to whether the product is a food product. Both govern the product rather than the advertisement.

Commission material has been reported as restricting the use of celebrity images and likenesses. That provision does not appear in sections 01 through 16 of the adopted regulations. Confirm its source and status with the Commission before relying on it in talent or influencer agreements.

Restricted Locations and Buffer Distances

No advertising buffer appears in the sections reviewed. This records the sections reviewed rather than a confirmed absence across the whole chapter.

The 1,000 Foot Siting Separation Is Not an Advertising Buffer

Under 04.08 for dispensaries, 05.08 for cultivators, 06.08 for product manufacturers and 07.08 for transporters, no licence will be issued for any premises located within 1,000 feet of any covered location. The distance is measured in a straight line from the nearest property line of the covered location to the nearest perimeter wall of the licensed premises.

Under 02.10, a covered location means any school, business operating under a licence issued pursuant to the Nebraska Child Care Licensing Act, church, hospital, or mental health substance use treatment center as defined by Neb. Rev. Stat. Section 71-423.

The separation does not apply to a licensee operating an establishment that was in operation before the covered location was established within 1,000 feet of it.

This governs where a business may be sited. It is not an advertising provision and should not be carried into a media exclusion layer.

Can You Run a Digital Out of Home Screen in Nebraska?

No cannabis-specific prohibition, buffer or content rule for out of home appears in the sections reviewed. General Nebraska outdoor advertising law and the local sign ordinance apply. The cultivator signage requirement at 14.05 governs a mandatory premises sign with specified content and colours, not a commercial screen.

Compliant Use of Geotargeting

• No advertising buffer appears in the sections reviewed, so there is no facility exclusion layer required by the sections reviewed.
• Do not carry the 1,000 foot licence siting separation into a media exclusion layer. It uses a property-line to perimeter-wall measurement and governs premises.
• Build audience and measurement without patient data leaving the licensee, since 12.08(D) permits disclosure only to the Commission, a Commission licensee, or a registered healthcare practitioner.
• Check creative and menu content against the allowable product forms at 13.09(A). Flower, vapes, edibles and beverages are not allowable forms.
• Note that there is no delivery channel: under 13.04 a dispensary may only sell at the licensed premises.
• Plan for delivery into Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Wyoming, each of which applies its own advertising rules.
• Read Title 238 NAC beyond section 16 before finalising, since those sections were not reviewed for this page.

Nebraska is medical only, and the programme is the newest in the country.

The two initiatives. Initiative 437 removes penalties for qualifying patients who possess, use and acquire medical cannabis and for caregivers who assist them. Initiative 438, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act, creates the Commission to license private businesses, with different licence types for different activities. Neither authorises patient or caregiver cultivation.

Licensing structure. Under 04.01, 05.01, 06.01 and 07.01, vertical licensing is not permitted and an applicant may not possess more than one licence type. Under 04.03, an individual applicant must be a United States citizen and a Nebraska resident for no less than four years immediately preceding the application; an entity must be majority owned, meaning more than 51 percent, by such a person, and its officers and directors must meet the same residency requirement. Fingerprinting is required, and background checks moved to fingerprint-based national criminal history record checks through the Nebraska State Patrol and FBI effective September 1, 2026.

Licence caps. One dispensary licence per district court judicial district under 04.11, a maximum of four cultivator licences statewide under 05.11, a maximum of four product manufacturer licences under 06.11, and one transporter licence per judicial district under 07.11. Where demand is not met, the Commission may grant one additional licence in the following year.

Bonds. Under 12.11 and 12.12, each establishment must file a reclamation bond of no less than $200,000 and a performance bond of no less than $100,000 within 30 calendar days of licensure, naming the State of Nebraska as secured party.

Access. Under 13.03 a dispensary must receive written recommendations and written orders electronically and directly from the practitioner, retain them for no less than seven years, and give the Commission real-time direct access to the system. Under 13.07 a dispensary may not sell more than five ounces, more than a 30-day supply, or more than five grams of Total THC to the same patient in a 90-day period, and may not sell within 30 days after filling a valid written order. Under 13.08 there are no refills on the same written order.

Timeline. Permanent regulations approved June 30 and July 1, 2026. Patient registry enrolment opened September 1, 2026. Manufacturer licence applications were open through December 14, 2026. A fee rulemaking public hearing was held October 15, 2026, with the package scheduled for consideration October 19, 2026. The Nebraska Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the voter-approved laws.

Possession outside the programme. A first offence involving one ounce or less is an infraction carrying a $300 fine.

A federal note. The Attorney General's signing statement observed that Congress did not include Nebraska in the list of states covered by the appropriations rider restricting Department of Justice prosecution of medical marijuana activity, in Pub. L. 119-74 section 531 of January 23, 2026, and that the facial constitutionality of the regulations could be questioned if Nebraska is not added in a future appropriations bill.

Who regulates hemp here

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture administers the hemp programme, separately from the Medical Cannabis Commission.

Non-intoxicating hemp and CBD

Permitted through general retail. A hemp product within the federal definition and sold outside the licensed medical channel is not a registered cannabis establishment advertising, so the Commission's rules do not reach it. General Nebraska consumer protection law and federal restrictions on health claims apply instead.

Intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids

Nebraska has given enforcement attention to delta-8 and similar products sold outside the licensed channel, and legislative proposals to restrict them have been introduced. The Commission's own definitions bear on this: under 02.33 a synthetic cannabinoid substance includes a semi-synthetic cannabinoid created by a chemical reaction converting one extracted cannabinoid into a different cannabinoid substance, and under 13.09(B)(v) no product including a synthetic cannabinoid substance may be sold. The federal definition of hemp narrows in November 2026. Confirm the current position before planning any hemp campaign.

What it means for advertising

Classification determines which framework applies. Classify each product before building a media plan and check the hemp position separately.

Every statement on this page traces to one of the following:

• Title 238 NAC Chapter 1, Registered Cannabis Establishments, adopted regulations approved by the Attorney General June 30, 2026 and by the Governor July 1, 2026
• Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission, rules and regulations, including proposed amendments and fee schedule
• Neb. Rev. Stat. Section 71-24,104, 71-24,107 and 71-24,111, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act
• Initiative 437, Nebraska Medical Cannabis Patient Protection Act, and Initiative 438, Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act, approved November 2024 and proclaimed December 12, 2024
• Nebraska Attorney General, Medical Cannabis Commission Regulations signing statement, June 30, 2026
• Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission
• Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Hemp Program

This page is written against sections 01 through 16 of 238 NAC 1. Sections beyond 16 were not retrieved and may contain further provisions, including an advertising section. A fee rulemaking is live. Confirm current rule text with the Commission before relying on any statement above.