Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approve sale and use of medical marijuana

While Nebraska voters on Election Day overwhelmingly approved two ballot questions allowing the distribution and sale of medical marijuana, a pending court case threatens to overturn the election result.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen had certified on Sept. 13 that supporters of the measures had gathered enough petition signatures to put the issues on the ballot.

On Nov. 5, voters approved the sale and use of medical marijuana (Measure 437) by a 71% to 29% margin. The distribution of medical marijuana (Measure 438) was approved 67% to 33%.

But right before the election, Evnen filed a complaint in Lancaster County District Court questioning the validity of about 49,000 of the approximately 118,000 signatures — about 42% — on each petition due to what he said were problems with the public notaries who validated the signatures.

For example, the lawsuit alleges that three people who gathered signatures acted illegally as both public notary and petition circulator. He also alleges that at least six of them notarized petitions outside the presence of the circulators, in violation of state election law.

Evnen’s complaint was submitted in response to a lawsuit challenging the petitions filed by former Republican state Sen. John Kuehn, the co-chair of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a national organization that opposes marijuana legalization.

Kuehn’s lawsuit alleges procedural problems with the signature-gathering process for the petitions. It also alleges the unlawful preemption of federal laws dealing with marijuana use, among other issues.

A decision in the joint trial of both actions is expected soon. But lawyers for both sides have predicted that no matter which way the court rules, the case will be appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court.

The group Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana championed the ballot measures. Crista Eggers, the campaign manager for the group, has a 10-year-old son who has epilepsy and suffers severe seizures. She hopes he will be among those who can use medical cannabis to improve their quality of life.

“The overwhelming support of Nebraskans was [made] clear by their vote,” Eggers said in an email to the Nebraska Independent. “I am hopeful for the day coming very soon that patients like my son Colton will have safe and regulated medical cannabis access.”

Advocates have tried for years to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska.

They gathered enough signatures to put the issue on the 2020 ballot, but the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled the measure was too broad, in violation of the state constitution. They tried again in 2022, but the effort stalled with the death of a major donor to the campaign.

“Our commitment to this issue has always been focused on the patients,” Eggers said. “And this win was about them and for them.”