Nebraska Advocates Turn in Petition Signatures for Medical Cannabis Campaign

Advocates in Nebraska turned in more than 114,000 signatures for their petition to legalize medical cannabis in the state, the Nebraska Examiner reports. The campaign, led by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, needs about 86,500 signatures from registered voters statewide, including signatures from at least 5% of voters in 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties, in order to put the issue on November ballots.  

In an interview with the Examiner, Crista Eggers, the statewide campaign manager, noted that the campaign “can never have enough” signatures and that the campaign collected signatures “until the very last moment to allow every Nebraskan” that wanted to sign the petition, to sign. 

The current campaign marks the third by advocates in the state. In 2022, the campaign did not submit enough valid signatures to put the issue to voters. In 2020, the state Supreme Court rejected the ballot language, arguing the petition contained two subjects: regulation and legalization. The current campaign split the proposed reforms into two petitions, hoping to meet the Supreme Court’s standards. 

Next, the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office will distribute signatures to respective county election officials statewide who will have 40 days to verify and return the signatures. The petition language then goes to the state Attorney General’s Office for review.