Nebraska advocates launch 2024 medicinal cannabis campaign

Advocates in Nebraska, one of the few remaining states in the United States that has no medical cannabis laws, recently filed filings to put a medical cannabis initiative to a vote in 2024.

According to the Nebraska Examiner, Nebraska medical marijuana residents need more than 200,000 signatures for the initiative to qualify. The group’s spokeswoman, Crista Eggers, hopes people will override decisions made by their state parliament, which have refused to listen to their constituents. “We have no choice but to continue petitioning the government,” Eggers said. “The legislature refuses to act despite the support of over 80% of Nebraskans of every party, region, age group, etc.”

Eggers also spoke to the Lincoln Journal Star about her hopes for medicinal cannabis. “We know that people support that,” said Eggers. “We will implement and put this into action to have safe and regulated medicinal cannabis in Nebraska.”

Eggers’ eight-year-old son has suffered from epileptic seizures since he was two years old. She and her family tried several drugs that did not improve her son’s condition, but eventually tried medicinal cannabis with success. She has spent the past seven years campaigning for and working towards the legalization of her son and other families across the state.

According to the group’s website, it will take about three weeks for the state to certify the initiative. After that, the group can start collecting signatures.

Medicinal cannabis can bring relief to suffering Nebrascans. We are among the thousands of families and patients who need access,” the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana states on its website. “Whether it’s a neighbor, loved one, or friend, most Nebrascans know someone who is struggling with a serious health condition. But medical cannabis isn’t an option in our state — even if a doctor recommends it.”

In 2020, the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana ballot initiative was removed from the vote by the Nebraska Supreme Court. The court held that the initiative violated the constitutional requirements of a “single subject” rule, prompting the group to instead create two initiatives that separately addressed a regulatory framework and established safeguards for caregivers from arrest.

LB-474 was also introduced into the state legislature in 2021 to accommodate medicinal cannabis, but was two votes short of being passed. Nicole Hochstein, mother of a Nebraska child with epilepsy, described her feelings as “devastated”. Broken. Torn to pieces because they literally chose my child’s life away.”

A petition campaign in August 2022 did not collect enough signatures for the 2022 vote. Although the 184,000 signatures collected by the group were not enough and despite funding problems, the group decided to continue the work until 2024.

In December 2021, former Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts was featured in an ad sponsored by Smart Approaches to Marijuana that solidified his opposition to the medical cannabis issue. “The only difference between medical marijuana and recreational marijuana is the wording,” the governor said. “Doctors can’t prescribe it and pharmacists can’t offer it because it’s not a drug.”

Earlier this year, he issued statements claiming that cannabis “is a dangerous drug that will affect our children” and “if you legalize marijuana, you will kill your children.”

Current Gov. Jim Pillen isn’t a staunch supporter of cannabis, but in February he confirmed his support for FDA-approved drugs. “I believe in the Prescribing Authority 100%. The FDA has done a good job here in recent years. I’m a proponent of using prescription marijuana as long as it’s FDA-approved,” he said.

Other states like Idaho, Indiana, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Wyoming still lack medical cannabis laws. In the Americans for Safe Access 2022 State of the States Report, all of these states, including Nebraska, were consistently rated an “F” for lack of legislation and patient access.