Two senators of the state of Nebraska have talked about their peers’ inaction on the issue which has resulted to the establishment of the 2020 ballot measure campaign to place the future of medical marijuana in the faith of Nebraskan voters. Paper works were submitted by Lincoln’s Anna Wishart and Adam Morfeld to create campaign committee Nebraskans for Sensible Marijuana Laws. The initiative aims to establish a constitutional amendment in favor of ensuring the right to medical cannabis, a feat that was previously unsuccessful in the state’s legislature.
Senator Wishart said that today is the first step towards implementing a valid medical marijuana law for sick and suffering Nebraskans. Different states have already approved effective medical marijuana laws, and soon, Nebraskans will be joining their ranks.
Advocates include the Marijuana Policy Project, which assisted in funding victories for similar measures in Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, and Utah. A politically diverse coalition supports the efforts of the senators.
The deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project Matthew Schweich is also a member of the campaign committee. Matthew Schweich said that “Medical marijuana is a bipartisan issue which is loved across the country, including in strict states like Nebraska. He added that they trust that the campaign will be victorious at the ballot box in 2020.”
This is unlike Senators Wishart and Morfeld’s first appeal to make cannabis legal in their state. During the previous legislative sessions, Wishart has raised the issue. In March of 2017, she promoted Legislative Bill 622, which was meant to open the option of medical cannabis to 19 different health conditions and any circumstance in which a practitioner believed their patient could take advantage from the consumption of the drug. The bill was favored by the state’s veterans but was highly unsuccessful to gain its draw the attention of lawmakers.
Senator Morfeld was a significant player in the build-up to pass the Medicaid expansion ballot initiative of 2018. He recently framed the cannabis issue as one of the patient rights by saying that patients should no longer wait and this is the time for voters in Nebraska to decide this issue.
The state stance on cannabis all over the nation may have gone through many changes over the last few years. Back in 2014, the government of Nebraska joined with Oklahoma in filing a Supreme Court case against Colorado when it legalized marijuana. The neighbors believed that cannabis would begin flowing over state borders.
Ballot measure campaigns based on voters have been a successful method for supporters of cannabis legalization. Last month, four states established a cannabis legalization question to residents and three of measures were successful in Michigan, Missouri, and Utah.
The Nebraskan initiative for Wishart and Morfeld’s will proceed by forming an active steering committee. According to Wishers, this group would include, “potential medical marijuana patients and their families, public safety and criminal justice reform advocates, business leaders and more.” Those in favor of the new effort are advised to support the campaign on social media.
