Current:Home > MarketsOliver James Montgomery-Measures to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska can appear on November ballot, official says -WealthMindset Learning
Oliver James Montgomery-Measures to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska can appear on November ballot, official says
Indexbit View
Date:2025-04-08 06:42:03
OMAHA,Oliver James Montgomery Neb. (AP) — A group seeking to legalize marijuana for medical use in Nebraska has gathered enough signatures to get the issue before voters in November, the state’s top election official said Friday.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana announced earlier this year that it had gathered about 114,000 signatures — well more than the approximately 86,000 needed — for each of two petitions: one that would allow marijuana for medical use and the other to regulate the medical marijuana industry in the state.
Signatures must also be collected from 5% of the registered voters in at least 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties to qualify for the ballot.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen said his office has so far verified more than 89,000 signatures for each and that both petitions met the 5% threshold in 51 counties.
Evnen said county election officials are still in the process of verifying signatures on the petitions, and so he has not yet certified the ballot measures. If the count reaches 110% of the total number of signatures needed, officials will stop verifying signatures and certify the petitions for the November ballot.
The deadline to certify the November ballot is Sept. 13.
It’s the third effort by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana to get the issue on the ballot.
In 2020, the group came close after meeting signature requirements. But opponents sued, arguing that it violated state rules requiring ballot measures to focus on a single question. Instead, they argued, the measure posed two separate questions: whether residents should have the right to use marijuana for medical purposes, and whether private companies should be allowed to grow and sell it.
The state Supreme Court sided with the effort’s opponents and prevented it from going to voters.
In 2022, with only months to do so, organizers failed to collect enough signatures to get the question on the November ballot.
“After years of hard work, we are beyond excited that Nebraskans will finally have the opportunity to have their voices heard on this issue in November,” said Crista Eggers, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana’s campaign manager. “Our fight has been long, it has been hard, but we have never given up. Today we celebrate that very soon, patients in this state will have access to medical cannabis treatment.”
Dozens of states have legalized marijuana for either medical or recreational use, most recently in Ohio last November. This fall, voters will weigh in on legalizing recreational marijuana in North Dakota, South Dakota and Florida.
In May, the federal government began a process to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
veryGood! (16342)
Related
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Ex-Catholic priest given 22 years in prison for attempting to sexually abuse a boy in South Carolina
- Lena Waithe talks working at Blockbuster and crushing on Jennifer Aniston
- 5 key takeaways from the Supreme Court arguments over Trump's 2024 ballot eligibility
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Migrant crossings fall sharply along Texas border, shifting to Arizona and California
- Ohio city drops charges against pastor who opened his church to house the homeless
- Investigators will try to find out why a private jet crashed onto a Florida interstate and killed 2
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Russian Figure Skater Kamila Valieva Blames Her Drug Ban on Grandfather’s Strawberry Dessert
Ranking
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Costco, Trader Joe's pull some products with cheese in expanded recall for listeria risk
- Guard Spencer Dinwiddie to sign with Lakers after clearing waivers
- Ban lifted on book displays celebrating Black history, Pride Month in SW Louisiana city
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Taylor Swift's Eras Tour estimated to boost Japanese economy by $228 million
- Kevin Harlan, Olivia Harlan Dekker make Super Bowl 58 a family affair with historic broadcast feat
- St. Louis wrecking crew knocks wall into transmission tower during demolition; brief explosion
Recommendation
Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
Tarek El Moussa Reveals How He Went From Being an Absent Father to the Best Dad Possible
2 deputies shot, 1 killed at traffic stop in Blount County, Tennessee, manhunt underway
Russian Figure Skater Kamila Valieva Blames Her Drug Ban on Grandfather’s Strawberry Dessert
Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
Costco, Trader Joe's and Walmart products made with cheese linked to deadly listeria outbreak
Pamela Anderson opens up about why she decided to ditch makeup
Ed Dwight was to be the first Black astronaut. At 90, he’s finally getting his due