Rick Beard, Nebraska’s Would-Be Government Weed Dealer
Rick Beard, the Legal Marijuana NOW Party candidate for governor, has built his campaign around an unusual proposition: Nebraska should not simply legalize cannabis — the state government should get into the marijuana business.
Under his proposal, the state would control wholesale, retail, testing, enforcement, and distribution, essentially creating a government marijuana monopoly modeled on Nebraska’s liquor system. Beard says the state would initially import cannabis from other states before licensing Nebraska farmers to produce it.
He also expects taxpayers to foot the bill for helping build the industry in the first place. Beard proposes taxpayer-funded subsidies for cannabis and industrial hemp growers, processors, and production centers, with the goal of establishing a new economy based entirely around marijuana in Nebraska.
From there, Beard envisions cannabis revenue solving Nebraska’s financial problems. He claims his proposal could generate more than $300 million annually for the state and says that money could fund schools and prevent property-tax increases. He separately projects roughly 15,000 new jobs and $400 million in annual salaries from cannabis and industrial hemp — an average salary of approximately $26,700.
In other words, Beard is proposing that taxpayers help establish an industry that he believes will eventually generate hundreds of millions of dollars for taxpayers.
Cannabis also underpins his criminal-justice and healthcare proposals. Beard wants to end arrests for cannabis possession and expand access to medical cannabis.
Beard argues that his campaign is not really a single-issue campaign because cannabis is simply the means to address Nebraska’s broader problems. But nearly every major component of his platform leads back to the same proposal: legalize cannabis, have the government run the industry, and hope the projected revenue materializes.
Beard has lived in Nebraska since 1972 and previously operated businesses in the wine industry.