Nebraska Activists Submit 15k Signatures to Establish ‘Legal Marijuana Now’ Party

Nebraska activists have turned in 15,000 signatures to establish the Legal Marijuana Now party in the state, four years after falling short due to a lack of valid signatures, the Lincoln Journal-Star reports. The campaign – led by Mark Elworth Jr. – needs 6,800 valid signatures to establish the party, which already has full ballot access in Minnesota and has been off and on the ballot in Iowa.

“We’re marijuana smokers. You can imagine what we’re about. We’re really about the lifestyle. Not just marijuana. We’re a whole culture that is not represented, really, by anybody.” – Elworth to the Journal-Star

Elworth said his focus for turning in the petition, even though it won’t get the party access to 2020 ballots, is to prevent young people from leaving the state. He said young Nebraskans are “hopeless” when it comes to the state’s politics. Elworth is also the Democratic nominee for Congress; however, the party is not supporting him because he failed to fill out an application with the party.

The Legal Marijuana Now party was started in Minnesota more than 30 years ago as an offshoot of the Grassroots Party.

If the signatures are validated, the party would be eligible for ballot access during the 2022 elections. Elworth indicated that if the party is approved, he would spend the next two years getting people registered with the party.

Earlier this month, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the state’s medical cannabis initiative violated the single-issue rule and blocked it from appearing on ballots in November.