Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana will start yet another effort to gather signatures to get the issue on the November 2022 ballot.
Organizer Crista Eggers tells KLIN News they have changed the process from the last attempt in 2020.
Eggers says, “After the 2020 ballot initiative that we did gather the necessary signatures for, we actually had 196,000 signatures and it did get certified to go on the ballot but then there was a last minute lawsuit filed by the sheriff of Lancaster County and went before the Supreme Court in Nebraska and it was overturned saying we were in violation of the single subject rule”.
Eggers says they took the last year to re-group and build a team of lawyers locally and nationally that specialize in cannabis law. She says they know there is opposition in the state and moving forward they took time drafting a set of petitions that would have the best chance of bringing this across the finish line.
Eggers says there are two petitions that will be circulated. “The first petition would establish legal protections for patients who have a recommendation to use medical cannabis and the second petition is to establish a regulatory system for private businesses who would provide medical cannabis to the patient. Most of our circulators will have both petitions. One will be white and another green. To get this truly across the finish line, we will encourage people to sign both. They are equally as important.”
Circulators have until July 7, 2022 to collect an estimated 250,000 signatures. The collection process will start on Saturday, October 2nd. Petition circulators will be out before the Husker game, both near the stadium and around Lincoln.
For more information, go to Nebraskamarijuana.org.