Nebraska Supreme Court affirms voter-approved medical cannabis petitions
The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld a District Court ruling affirming voter-approved medical cannabis petitions.
The two petitions -- which raised enough signatures to be placed on the ballot and were approved by Nebraska voters in 2024 – legalized cannabis for medical purposes and established the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to regulate medical cannabis.
In a lawsuit filed against the petition sponsors and Secretary of State Bob Evnen, former State Senator John Kuehn claimed the petitions were invalid due to signatures that should have been excluded due to circulator fraud and improper notarizations.
In its ruling, the Lancaster County District Court concluded only 711 signatures collected on the legalization petition were invalid, while only 826 signatures gathered by the same petitioner were invalid. The District Court said this was not enough to disqualify the petitions from the 2024 ballot.
The Nebraska Supreme Court agreed with the District Court and affirmed its order.
Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said the court’s decision is a victory for Nebraska patients, families and voters.
“This was never about protecting Nebraska law. It was about whether a handful of elected officials could use the courts to override the will of the people,” Eggers said. “Today, our state’s highest court stated the obvious: they cannot.”
She added: “State leaders have run out of excuses. The voters won. The law stands. It is time for the political attacks and obstruction to end. Nebraska officials need to get out of the way and implement what the people of this state already demanded.”