OMAHA, Neb. — After Nebraska voters decisively endorsed medical marijuana three weeks ago, the state took significant steps toward implementation this Tuesday when a judge confirmed the validity of the petitions that proposed the measure.
The ruling by Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong served as a triumph for medical marijuana proponents, although it is anticipated that adversaries will seek to challenge the decision in the state Supreme Court.
“In order for the plaintiff and the Secretary to win this case, they needed to demonstrate that over 3,463 names on the Legalization Petition and 3,357 names on the Regulatory Petition were invalid. They fell considerably short of that,” Strong stated, noting that fewer than 1,000 signatures were deemed invalid on each petition.
A representative from the Nebraska Attorney General’s office conveyed that legal experts were analyzing the ruling and deliberating on whether to initiate an appeal.
Following the announcement of the ruling, medical marijuana supporters had not immediately returned requests for comments via calls and emails.
In the recent vote conducted on November 5, an overwhelming two-thirds of Nebraska voters were in favor of legalization. The official results are set to be confirmed by December 2.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen and Attorney General Mike Hilgers raised concerns, suggesting that irregularities surrounding the collection of thousands of signatures called the legitimacy of the ballot initiatives into question. One petition circulator from Grand Island faced criminal charges for allegedly falsifying at least 164 signatures. Additionally, Evnen, Hilgers, and former state senator John Kuehn spotlighted potential issues with the notarization of some signatures.
However, the organization Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana maintained in court that despite a few flawed signatures, they comfortably surpassed the required threshold of 86,499 signatures. The Secretary of State’s office confirmed nearly 90,000 signatures for both the initiative permitting medical marijuana use and the one establishing a regulatory body for it.
The judge concurred that the evidence presented did not substantiate claims of widespread fraud. Instead, her ruling primarily referenced the one circulator who faced legal charges and questioned the notarization of a limited number of signatures.
Judge Strong reviewed extensive communications between the lead organizers of the petition campaign, spanning over 800 pages, and found only a single reference to notarizing petitions outside of the circulator’s direct presence.
This year’s attempt marked the third occasion when Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana sought to place the issue before voters, with this being the first successful effort.
In 2020, the organization nearly succeeded after collecting the necessary signatures, but was thwarted by legal action from opponents. They contended that the advocates breached state regulations by introducing a dual-question measure: one concerning the right to use marijuana for medical reasons and the other focused on allowing private entities to cultivate and market it. Consequently, the state Supreme Court prohibited the questions from reaching voters.
Organizers were unable to gather sufficient signatures in time for the 2022 ballot.
This year, while voters in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Florida all rejected proposals for legalizing recreational marijuana, many states have previously moved to permit its use for medical or recreational purposes. Ohio’s recent legalization last year is among the most recent examples in this trend. In addition, the federal government has begun steps to reassess the classification of marijuana, potentially labeling it as a less hazardous substance.
