An advocacy group took a crucial procedural step on Wednesday toward eventually getting a pair of medical marijuana proposals before Nebraska voters on next year’s ballot.
The group Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana said that it has “recently filed drafts of the measures with the Nebraska Secretary of State and expects to begin circulating petitions later this month.”
It intends “to qualify a pair of initiatives ahead of the November election next year by gathering roughly 250,000 signatures across the state before the July 7, 2022 deadline.” The petitions are expected to be approved by the state of Nebraska for circulation later this month.
According to the Lincoln Journal Star, the first initiative would “require the Legislature to enact new statutes protecting doctors who recommend and patients who possess or use medical cannabis from criminal penalty.”
Under the second proposal, legislators would be required “to pass legislation creating a regulatory framework that protects private entities that produce and supply medical cannabis.”
The group says it plans “to release the full text of both medical cannabis initiatives once the petitions are officially approved for circulation by the state.”
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana is being led by Crista Eggers, who has a six-year-old son, Colton, who is suffering from severe intractable epilepsy.
“We’ve received so much encouragement from individuals all across the state, who support the many patients like our son Colton, who desperately need access to this medicine. No matter what your political background is, we should all agree that criminalizing a medicine that has the potential to alleviate suffering, is both cruel and inhumane,” Eggers said in a press release on Wednesday. “The current policy doesn’t reflect our family values