Activists in Nebraska on Friday unveiled the language of a pair of initiatives to legalize medical marijuana in the state. Supporters now have until July of next year to gather thousands of voter signatures to put the measures on the 2022 ballot. The petitioning drive to qualify the two initiatives will begin Saturday in Lincoln, near a University of Nebraska football game at Memorial Stadium, where advocates say they plan to “take advantage of the crowds” to “kick off the effort.” Together, the two initiatives from Medical Marijuana (NMM) would protect qualified patients from legal consequences for cannabis and regulate businesses that produce, distribute and sell marijuana products to those patients. Advocates say they’re done waiting for lawmakers to act on the issue and will instead take the issue directly to voters. “It is frustrating that politicians have ignored the will of the people and denied my son and thousands of other patients the compassion they deserve,” said Nicole Hochstein, NMM’s volunteer coordinator for Cedar County and the mother of an 11-year-old child diagnosed with epilepsy. “But this ballot campaign provides hope to families like ours. We are seeing democracy in action today.”
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 00/01/2021