A lawsuit filed by former Nebraska state Sen. John Kuehn seeking to block the state’s voter-approved medical cannabis reforms was dismissed last week in a district court, Nebraska Public Media reports.
Kuehn had argued in the suit that the medical cannabis reforms would violate state and federal law, since cannabis remains a Schedule I substance under federal law, and that his status as a Nebraska taxpayer allows him to sue over what he believes is the “illegal expenditure of taxpayer money.”
Lancaster County District Court Judge Susan Strong disagreed, however, and dismissed the case on Thursday.
“The Court does not believe that the incidental burdens of implementing a law, like employee time and printing costs, is an ‘expenditure of public funds’ sufficient to confer taxpayer standing under Nebraska law.” — Strong, via Nebraska Public Media
It was not the first lawsuit against the medical cannabis reforms brought by the former state senator that Strong dismissed — the district court judge in November rejected another lawsuit from Kuehn that had accused the medical cannabis campaign of improperly obtaining petition signatures, saying the plaintiffs fell “well short” of showing the signatures were invalid.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana Executive Director Crista Eggers said in a statement that the group appreciates the “thoughtful decision” to dismiss the latest lawsuit brought by Keuhn.
“This is yet another failed attempt to strip away the will of the people, and should send a clear message to the opposition that they have lost,” Eggers said in the report.
In the end, Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved the state’s medical cannabis proposal despite political opposition from Kuehn and even current state officials like Secretary of State Bob Evnen.
State lawmakers, however, have repeatedly failed this year to advance legislation to implement the voter-approved reforms.
