The old guard is still working hard to bring back the War on Drugs – state by state.
The cannabis industry is holding its breath until after the election. Both presidential candidates have endorsed some type of movement on marijuana but the big nail biter is how the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) will move on rescheduling. Â Also, Florida is deciding on becoming the next major recreational market and other states are trying to move forward. Â And while almost 90% of the general public supports it, the 10% who oppose it are still fighting to the end. Now another states’s leaders want to stop medical marijuana. Nebraska is the latest to ignore public opinion and will by trying to stop medical cannabis.
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Legal states have seen increased tax revenues, no change on crime and a decrease in youth consumption. The American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians along with the federal agencies Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have all spoke up about the need for rescheduling additional research to unlock more medical medical benefits. But it makes no difference to Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Secretary of State Bob Evnen.
Cornhusker state citizens started a ballot initiative to bring medical marijuana to the state. Â The group, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, garnered over 115,000 signatures. This was enough for the initiative to move forward and allow the public to decided the fate. The state has almost 2 million people with 288+ being over 65. This is a group with an increasing interest in medical marijuana use to help with chronic pain, insomnia, anxiety and other issues. But after being certified, the Attorney General and Secretary of State are calling foul and say half of the signatures are invalid. Early voting has already begun, but they would use this issue to void the results if the pro marijuana group wins.
Attorney General Hilgers’ office seeks to go further than a 1919 Nebraska Supreme Court case dealing with an anti-woman-suffrage referendum used to defeat the effort. A bench trial is set to begin Oct. 29, one week before Election Day. The case is likely to be appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court, no matter the outcome.
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Like Florida, where Governor DeSantis has worked against the public will on marijuana. Nebraska has a history. In 201 the “Cannabis Compassion and Care Act,” was proposed in the l state legislature. The legislation would have allowed certain patients with prescriptions to use marijuana in liquid or pill form (but not smoked leaf form) for medical purposes. Following an initial 27–12 vote in favor, the bill’s sponsor, Senator Tommy Garrett requested the bill be held until 2016. The the bill was blocked by a Senate filibuster, falling three votes short of the number failed to advance. The bill encountered strong opposition from Governor Pete Ricketts and  then Attorney General Doug Peterson.  In 2020, a medical cannabis ballot measure was invalidated by the Nebraska Supreme Court. So it is up to the voters to see what happens next.
