Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen has certified a pair of petitions seeking to legalize/regulate medical cannabis for the state’s November ballot.
This certification comes in spite of charges being filed Friday morning from the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office alleging one petition circulator submit fraudulent signatures for the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) petition campaign.
“An investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s office has uncovered serious question about the signature gathering process for these petitions, and we have been advised that a signature collector is being charged with felony fraud,” Secretary of State Bob Evnen said. “Signatures that cannot be verified by county election workers are not included in the overall signature count. I am certifying the petitions because, at this point, they appear to have met the threshold signature requirements. That could change in light of the Attorney General’s investigation. Both cannabis petitions will appear on the ballot, but a court could order later that the initiatives be thrown out.”
The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Patient Protection initiative petition collected 89,962 valid signatures from Nebraska voters statewide. Petition organizers collected valid signatures from at least 5% of registered voters in 52 counties.
The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation initiative petition collected 89,856 valid signatures from Nebraska voters statewide. Petition organizers collected valid signatures from at least 5% of registered voters in 52 counties.
The Nebraska Secretary of State’s office did not receive any affidavits from individuals requesting that their names be removed from either petition.
Evnen also released the ballot language for each measure:
Nebraska Medical Cannabis Patient Protection
A vote “FOR” will enact a statute that makes penalties inapplicable under state and local law for the use, possession, and acquisition of an allowable amount (up to five ounces) of cannabis for medical purposes by a qualified patient with a written recommendation from a health care practitioner, and for a caregiver to assist a qualified patient with these activities.
A vote “AGAINST” means such a statute will not be enacted.
Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation
A vote “FOR” will enact a statute that makes penalties inapplicable under state law for the possession, manufacture, distribution, delivery, and dispensing of cannabis for medical purposes by registered private entities, and that establishes a Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to regulate such activities.
A vote “AGAINST” means such a statute will not be enacted.
There are now six ballot measures approved so far for the November general election ballot: Paid Sick Leave, Protect the Right to Abortion, Protect Women and Children, Private Education Scholarship partial referendum, Nebraska Medical Cannabis Patient Protection and Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation.
The Nebraska Secretary of State’s office will hold public hearings on these ballot measures in each of Nebraska’s three congressional districts, as well as produce an informational brochure about the ballot measures. The dates and locations of district hearings will be announced at a later date.