A Lancaster County judge has rejected a plea to delay Nebraska’s newly passed medical cannabis laws, allowing them to proceed as scheduled.
Judge Susan Strong on Wednesday declined to issue an injunction that would have prevented Governor Jim Pillen from signing the measures into law by Thursday’s deadline. These measures, Initiative Measures 437 and 438, were overwhelmingly approved by voters last month.
Initiative Measure 437, which passed with 71% voter support, allows patients with a doctor’s recommendation to possess up to five ounces of medical cannabis. Initiative Measure 438, supported by 67% of voters, establishes the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee the regulation, licensing, and distribution of medical marijuana, mirroring the structure of the state’s Liquor Control Commission.
“The governor will comply with his statutory duty to sign the proclamations by the required deadline,” confirmed a spokesperson for Governor Pillen.
This decision comes amidst a broader legal challenge filed by John Kuehn, a former state senator and vocal opponent of marijuana legalization. Kuehn’s lawsuit, filed Tuesday, targets Pillen, Secretary of State Bob Evnen, and the initiatives’ sponsors, arguing that the new laws conflict with federal drug classifications and unconstitutionally delegate legislative powers.
Kuehn’s attorney, Eddie Greim from Kansas City, Missouri, argued that the laws would create an “insular government within a government,” potentially leading to arbitrary regulation of a new industry. “Whether all the benefits of this measure claimed by the proponents are ultimately realized is really going to depend on standards created from whole cloth by these commissioners,” Greim stated.
However, attorneys for both the ballot sponsors and the state argued that blocking the governor from fulfilling his constitutional duty would be contrary to the public interest. Daniel Gutman, representing Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said, “I know that a handful of people in very powerful positions in the state are having a really hard time grappling with this election result, and frankly, they’re turning to the judiciary to overturn it.”
The legal battle stems from a previous challenge by Kuehn, which focused on the validity of signatures collected for the ballot measures. That case was dismissed by Judge Strong on November 26, with an appeal currently underway.
Nebraska’s medical marijuana laws, if enacted, would make it the 39th state to legalize medical cannabis, joining nearly all other states that have some form of cannabis legalization. The governor, along with other state officers, certified the November election results on December 2, setting a 10-day window for the proclamation of successful ballot measures.
Solicitor General Eric Hamilton argued against Kuehn’s motion, suggesting that allowing such legal challenges could set a precedent for broader constitutional litigation at early stages. “We’ve had 150-plus years of constitutional litigation in Nebraska,” Hamilton noted, pointing out the lack of precedent for such a case.
Despite these arguments, Judge Strong refrained from commenting on the merits of the federal and delegation issues raised by Kuehn, leaving those for future court proceedings as the laws are set to take effect.
Nebraska’s journey toward medical cannabis legalization has been fraught with legal hurdles, reflecting the tension between state voter initiatives and federal law, as well as debates over legislative authority.
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