(Lincoln, NE) -- Backers of a medical marijuana bill that failed in the Nebraska Unicameral say they're not giving up the fight.
A press release from Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana says that the group has plans to reactivate their grassroots base to ramp up a signature drive for a 2022 medical cannabis initiative after lawmakers failed to pass LB 474. The group says the bill would have, "established one of the most restrictive medical cannabis programs in the country."
Last year, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana collected over 196,000 signatures to put a medical cannabis initiative on the November 2020 ballot, which was thrown out after a 5-2 decision from the Nebraska Supreme Court. The high court ruled that the measure violated Nebraska’s single subject rule for ballot issues.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana says in December, the campaign filed new petition language with the Secretary of State to, "amend the state constitution and legalize medical cannabis through the 2022 ballot. The single-sentence amendment was drafted by a team of legal experts and is designed to avoid potential legal challenges."
State Senator Anna Wishart, a leader of both the 2020 campaign and the current effort, expressed confidence in the campaign’s ability to succeed and urged supporters of medical cannabis to join the effort. “It was true last year and it remains true today that the vast majority of Nebraskans are on our side when it comes to this issue. Voters were unfairly denied the opportunity to enact reform last year, but this time we’re ready for any legal challenge, and we will succeed.”