Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana are now actively collecting signatures for a pair of initiatives that would legalize medical marijuana and provide protections for physicians who recommend it.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) filed the initiatives last month with plans to place the proposals on the November, 2024 ballot. This is the group’s third attempt to put a medical marijuana initiative before voters of the state, with advocates falling less than 1,000 signatures short last year.
The group has until next July to collect 125,000 signatures from registered Nebraska voters. Dozens of signature gatherers were seen gathering signatures over the weekend, including multiple at the Omaha Farmer’s Market on Sunday.
One of the two initiatives would “enact a statute that makes penalties inapplicable under state and local law for the use, possession, and acquisition of limited quantities of cannabis for medical purposes by a qualified patient with a written recommendation from a health care practitioner, and for a caregiver to assist a qualified patient in these activities.”
The proposal would create the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to provide the necessary “registration and regulation of persons that possess, manufacture, distribute, deliver, and dispense cannabis for medical purposes.”
The second initiative would provide legal protections for doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients.
Crista Eggers, co-chair of MMM, says she’s “confident” the group will accomplish their goal of putting the initiatives to a vote in 2024.
