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All things Nebraska
Let’s get this straight – 71% of Nebraskans voted in November to legalize the use of marijuana as medicine.
But when the State Legislature got around to adopting regulations to dole it out, lawmakers decided “whoa,” let’s not get too hasty about this.
It’s a crazy world, right? But how crazy is it when the state’s voters, by not just a slim margin but a landslide, approve new laws and the State Legislature decides ‘nope.’
Medical marijuana is now legal in 47 states. Nebraska, Kansas and Idaho the outliers. We probably all know someone who’s tried it to relieve pain, ward off nausea or get a good night’s sleep.
But efforts in this state to legalize cannabis for medical purposes in our state have faced an onslaught of lawsuits and expensive advertising campaigns over more than a decade. Attorney General Mike Hilgers is continuing the fight, appealing all the way to the State Supreme Court. And former Gov. Pete Ricketts continues to fund anti-medical pot efforts.
That’s despite the pleadings of parents of children with persistent and uncontrollable seizures, who have testified over and over at legislative hearings. They maintain marijuana can help their kids, and say it’s safer and likely more effective than drugs now regularly prescribed.
Some military veterans, along with former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey have also touted medical cannabis as effective in treating the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Failing to get traction with state lawmakers, advocates eventually turned to the ballot box.
In 2020, they collected more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot and were expected to gain legalization.
But the State Supreme Court nullified their labors on a technicality, ruling their proposal violated the rule against including more than one subject in a ballot initiative.
Last year, advocates finally overcame the legal challenges and won at the ballot box. Now, they say the “will of the people” to allow medical marijuana is being denied again.
The Legislature this session neglected to pass regulations governing the distribution of medical pot, leading one advocate to call it an “absolute failure.”
Now the rules will be drawn up by an unelected, five-member commission consisting of the three members of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission – who are all appointed by the governor – along with two new members, also appointed by the governor.
Pillen is not a fan of such legalization, and the two new members he’s appointed have opposed medical cannabis, which was compared to naming an arsonist to lead the fire department.
It’s led to fears that nothing will happen, or the use of medical pot will be so limited that only a few people can be helped.
To be sure, this is a complicated subject. No one wants to see kids messing around with marijuana, and the vote wasn’t to approve pot for recreation. But if the natural, medicinal properties of cannabis can provide relief from debilitating seizures and PTSD, we should be handing it out free. It’s one thing to oppose the legalization of medicinal marijuana. But the people – the “second house” of state government – have spoken.
In Nebraska, we allow citizens, via the ballot box, to pass laws and constitutional amendments.
And when we do so, we expect the State Legislature and the offices of the governor and attorney general to do what the voters want and not stand in the way.
Paul Hammel has covered state government and the state for decades. Prior to his retirement, he was senior contributor with the Nebraska Examiner.
