Doctor nominated to medical cannabis commission urges research, warns against smoking as delivery method

Dr. Monica Oldenburg, an anesthesiologist practicing in Nebraska, described her medical experience and urged a cautious, research‑driven approach to the Medical Cannabis Commission's rule‑making if confirmed.

"I'm not a prohibitionist. I'm pro research," Dr. Oldenburg told senators, describing 18 years in clinical anesthesia and eight years practicing in Nebraska. She said Nebraska can learn from other states, including Colorado, where she practiced during the evolution from medical to recreational markets.

In response to committee questions, Oldenburg said the commission should be deliberate in designating appropriate medical conditions and in regulating dispensaries and manufacturers. She raised clinical concerns about product potency, dosing and interactions with other medications, saying research in the field is developing and sometimes contradictory.

On smoking and delivery routes, Oldenburg was direct: "Smoking isn't good for your lungs. It just isn't. It doesn't matter what you're smoking." She said physicians have a clinical bias against smoking generally, and she would bring that clinical judgment into commission discussions while noting the commission must follow statute and legal guidance.

Senators asked whether the commission could limit which product forms dispensaries sell; Oldenburg said she was not sure of the commission's authority on medical practice or prescribing and said she would seek legal counsel and work with other commissioners to stay within statutory bounds.

Oldenburg said she was motivated to apply because of clinical concerns and experience treating patients; senators and other witnesses addressed the need to include physicians on the commission to help design dosing, delivery and safety rules. Her answers underscored open questions about how the commission will balance clinical judgment, statutory limits and patient access when it writes rules.