Nebraska voters will decide this Election Day on a pair of citizen-initiated ballot measures regulating medical cannabis access to authorized patients.
State regulators last week affirmed that advocates Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana had gathered the requisite number of signatures to place the measures before voters.
The two measures are complementary. The first permits qualified patients to possess and use cannabis. The second measure regulates the production and distribution of cannabis to those authorized patients. Advocates had to frame the issue as two separate ballot questions in order to not run afoul of the state’s ‘single subject’ rule. In 2020, the state Supreme Court invalidated a similar stand-alone measure for addressing issues that it deemed were “not naturally and necessarily connected to the [initiative’s] primary purpose.” A 2022 effort failed to obtain sufficient signatures to qualify for the ballot.
“States have a proven track record of safely and effectively regulating medical marijuana,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “After November, Nebraskans will no longer be forced to choose between their medicine or their freedom.”
Thirty-eight states, the District of Columbia, and several US territories regulate medical cannabis products. Statewide polling indicates that between 70 percent and 80 percent of Nebraskans support legalizing medical marijuana access.
Nebraska is one of at least four states where cannabis-related initiatives will appear on November’s ballot. Voters in Florida, North Dakota, and South Dakota, who also will be deciding on adult-use legalization measures this fall.
In Texas, voters in the cities of Bastrop (population 11,200), Dallas (population: 1.3 million), and Lockhart (population 15,000) will decide on municipal ballot measures prohibiting local law enforcement from making low-level marijuana-related arrests.
Additional Election 2024 coverage is available from NORML.
