Nebraska Sen. John Cavanaugh Says They Will Never Stop Pushing For Medical Marijuana Amidst Signature-Gathering Struggles

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana have only until July 7th to collect enough signatures to place a medical cannabis proposal on the Nebraska ballot later this year but unfortunately, they still need a lot.

Crista Eggers, the campaign manager, begged the community to join the effort, saying they still need 35,000 more signatures.

“I cannot be more clear. We have not reached the threshold we need, we are not working on overage, and without tens of thousands of Nebraskans signing this weekend we may not be able to submit our signatures to the Nebraska Secretary of State on July 7th”, Eggers said in a press release.

The campaign’s volunteers used the 4th of July parades and celebrations to gather as many signatures as possible, reported 6 News WOWt.

Senator John Cavanaugh On Board 

“Yeah, we’re never going to stop,” said State Senator John Cavanaugh Tuesday afternoon. Cavanaugh is one among many volunteers helping the organization to collect more signatures for the medical marijuana petition. People were coming to his house to sign it. Among them was Bill Hronek, who commented that “It’s a strange thing that 352 miles to the west it’s legal, and it’s not legal here.”

Hronek already signed the petition before the Nebraska Supreme Court overturned the last ballot initiative some two years ago. Wanting to help a 3-year-old granddaughter who suffers from grand mal seizures, he brought his family and friends to sign the petition.

Senator Cavanaugh said that families like Hronek’s are keeping them motivated not to give up on this mission.

”I mean the evidence is clear, marijuana is good, medical cannabis can be good medicine for a lot of specific diseases, aliments, issues that people have, and it’s a lot better than a lot of the medicine we’re using now which includes opioids,” he said.

“It is a very good medical option for people and we shouldn’t continue to criminalize it in this state.”

The organization recently struggled with funding, which could be the reason it is so near the deadline without enough signatures.

What’s more, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana also teamed up with the ACLU of Nebraska to file a federal civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court. The two groups set in motion a legal action against the state's requirement that 5% of registered voters in 38 counties sign a petition to place the measure on the ballot.

With the deadline so near, look here to see several locations for signing the petition.

Photo: Courtesy of Diyahna Lewis on Unsplash