Lincoln, Nebraska – With a bill aimed at legalizing medical cannabis in Nebraska currently stuck in committee, proponents of medical marijuana are making another attempt to bring the issue before voters for the third consecutive election cycle.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, a group advocating for the cause, has submitted two initiatives to the Secretary of State’s Office with the objective of qualifying the measure for the general election ballot in November 2024.
Crista Eggers, the statewide campaign coordinator for Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, expressed her disappointment to state senators on the Judiciary Committee, emphasizing that if the Legislature fails to take action, concerned parents like herself would take matters into their own hands.
“For 10 years, patients and caregivers like myself have been discussing and advocating for this cause,” said Eggers, whose 8-year-old son, Colton, suffers from intractable seizures. “I had hoped that our legislative body would deem it important enough, but unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case.”
The two petitions filed have similar language to initiatives circulated in 2022. Their purpose is to compel the Legislature to amend state statute and legalize medical cannabis, rather than amending the Nebraska Constitution.
The first petition seeks to establish a new state statute that protects doctors who recommend cannabis and patients who use it for medical reasons. The second petition requires the Legislature to legalize the production, supply, and distribution of cannabis for medical purposes.
“We are aware of the public support for this cause,” stated Eggers. “We are determined to execute and bring safe and regulated medical cannabis to Nebraska.”
Once the petition language is approved by Secretary of State Bob Evnen, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana plans to launch their campaign in June. Their goal is to surpass the signature-gathering requirements outlined in state law.
To qualify, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana must collect signatures equivalent to 7% of registered voters in the state, including 5% of voters in 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties.
This renewed effort follows the previous campaigns falling approximately 9,000 signatures short of qualifying for the November 2022 general election ballot. Additionally, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that a 2020 ballot violated the single-subject rule for initiatives after nearly 200,000 signatures were submitted.
The decision to pursue a ballot initiative arises from the Legislature’s failure to act on Senator Anna Wishart’s attempt (LB 588) to pass a medical marijuana law in Nebraska.
Senator Wishart’s bill, which underwent a Judiciary Committee hearing in February, outlined a narrow list of qualifying medical conditions for which patients could seek medical marijuana. It also detailed the steps physicians must follow before recommending cannabis to a patient.
Under LB 588, patients recommended for medical cannabis would have been permitted to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces or 2,000 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from state-licensed dispensaries. These dispensaries would have been required to employ licensed pharmacists trained in medical cannabis.
The bill also included provisions prohibiting patients from smoking or vaping cannabis, cultivating their own marijuana plants, operating a vehicle under the influence of cannabis, or using cannabis while riding as a passenger.
Wishart described the proposed legislation as one of the most conservative medical marijuana laws in the country, resulting from discussions and compromises between doctors, pharmacists, and state senators who expressed concerns about previous efforts being too broad.
However, despite emotional testimony from parents of the approximately 19,600 Nebraska children living with severe epilepsy, as well as individuals dealing with chronic pain, Wishart’s bill remained stagnant in committee.
Wishart attributed the lack of progress to turnover in the Legislature and the Judiciary Committee, which led to a membership that did not follow the actions of previous committees that advanced medical marijuana legislation for debate on the floor.
Opposition to medical marijuana was expressed by Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who had opposed it during his tenure as a state senator, and Nebraska’s chief medical officer during the committee hearing earlier this year.
In an attempt to move forward, Wishart sought to further narrow the bill, eventually settling on a “right to try” proposal exclusively for parents of children with severe epilepsy. This proposal would not have allowed for the opening of dispensaries in Nebraska, but it would have granted those patients, upon their doctor’s recommendation, the ability to travel to other states to purchase cannabis. It would also have decriminalized possession of marijuana for those individuals.
“I believe I could have gotten that proposal out of committee,” Wishart remarked, “but I lacked confidence that I would have enough votes on the floor. Given its narrow scope and the uncertainty surrounding it, we concluded that returning to the ballot was necessary.”
Wishart emphasized that access to medical cannabis would benefit more than just individuals with epilepsy.
