Nebraska Medical Cannabis Legalization Heads Into November Election Amid Signature Controversy

Nebraska voters will soon decide on whether to legalize medical cannabis, following the certification of two ballot measures on Friday by Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen. As MJBiz Daily reported, the initiatives, which aim to establish a regulated medical marijuana market, were cleared for the November 2024 ballot just hours after complications arose involving alleged falsification of petition signatures.

The push for medical cannabis in Nebraska is being led by the advocacy group Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, with campaign manager Crista Eggers voicing optimism about the outcome. "We look forward to November, when the people's voice on this issue will finally be heard," Eggers said in a statement to Nebraska Public Media. If passed, Nebraska would join the majority of U.S. states that have implemented regulated marijuana programs.

After two unsuccessful attempts, the advocate group achieved the required number of signatures, totaling close to 115,000, surpassing the 86,500 needed.

Legal Challenges Emerge

The path to certification has been fraught with controversy. Former state Senator John Kuehn, co-founder of the anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, filed a lawsuit on Thursday attempting to block the measures from reaching the ballot. The lawsuit alleges that the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office did not provide sufficient time to review and challenge the petition, which Kuehn claims includes "numerous signatures" that should be disqualified.

Kuehn's lawsuit, filed just one day before the measures were certified, calls for the invalidation of signatures on both petitions, which he argues could undermine the integrity of the certification process.

Allegations Of Signature Fraud

Compounding the controversy, Michael Egbert, a Grand Island man involved in gathering signatures for the petition, was charged with falsifying signatures. As reported by the Nebraska Examiner, prosecutors allege that Egbert submitted signatures from deceased residents, as well as signatures with incorrect information, such as misspelled names and inaccurate dates of birth. Egbert is accused of lying in the affidavit of a circulator on a petition,and his arraignment is set for October 2, weeks before the election.

"NMM provides extensive training to all petition circulators. Circulators are held to an extremely high standard and are required to strictly follow all legal requirements for collecting signatures. Any circulators caught violating the law should be held responsible for their actions" NMM later stated. 

Despite these allegations, Evnen certified the ballot initiatives, and Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana remains hopeful. The organization continues its efforts to rally support for the measures, even as the legal and political battle unfolds.

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