By Ramone Tarnaski

Nebraskans could vote on a medical marijuana measure in November if the 182,000 signatures submitted to the state for review by activists are valid. With the overwhelming support of the petition, there is a good chance Nebraska voters will approve the initiative in November, but there are criteria that must be met for the election. If approved in a vote, doctors could recommend cannabis to patients suffering from debilitating diseases, and patients would then be allowed to possess, buy and grow marijuana for personal use. Today was a great step forward for thousands of Nebraskingans who deserve compassion, "the campaign's press release said.

After the signature collection was suspended in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, the campaign resumed its efforts last week. To qualify for the election, she needs the signatures of at least 182,000 registered voters from across the country, including registered voters in Nebraska and voters in other states. Wishart and other lawmakers tried to get a medical cannabis bill through the Legislature, only to be blocked by the opposition leadership, so the issue was brought directly to voters.


It is a Herculean task that faces enormous challenges, including a pandemic that severely impaired the ability to collect signatures on the original timetable, but advocates are confident that the renewed effort will be enough to exaggerate. In the coming months we will argue that establishing a system for safe access to medical cannabis, as 33 other states have done, will be hugely beneficial to the people of Nebraska. It opens up the possibility of a much safer, safer and more effective medical marijuana system for Nebraska, "said David Schoenfeld, executive director of the Heartland Strategy Group, which is leading the signature collection.

While most of the petitions were collected by paid advertisers, volunteers submitted more than 33,000 signatures, including 14,000 collected in the last two - and - a week and a half alone. The petition is bringing together more than 1,500 volunteers from across the state and hundreds of local organizations. Without the support of advocates and hard-working Nebraskans who believe in this cause, we would not have gotten to the finish line, "Wishart said.

The representatives of the states and municipalities will now check and count the submitted signatures and are expected to decide on the approval by mid-August. According to the campaign website, 5,000 new voters are also planned in the state.

Montana activists have filed more than 130,000 signatures to qualify two marijuana legalization initiatives for the November elections. A proposal to decriminalise drug possession and increase funding for treatment made it onto the ballot paper this week. In Arizona, organizers of the legalization effort submitted 420,000 signatures to qualify for the election, and the state upheld the bill. Colorado's initiative to legalize psilocybin for therapeutic purposes led to more than enough petitions to qualify.


In Washington, D.C., efforts to decriminalize a wide range of psychedelic substances are nearing the end of their two-year-old campaign. Campaigners for the legalisation of medical marijuana have received a boost after a federal judge said last week that the state must hold a separate election campaign because of complications from a coronavirus pandemic. November's election in South Dakota was the first statewide vote for a medical marijuana treatment initiative in more than a decade.

The New Jersey Legislature has also agreed to put a referendum on legalizing cannabis to voters. Activists have collected enough signatures to qualify an initiative to legalize medical cannabis for an election, although lawmakers have also approved a competing initiative that will appear in the campaign and is supported by the National Organization for Marijuana Rights Reform (NORML) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The campaign to legalize cannabis in Missouri stopped campaigning last year after collecting signatures became virtually impossible given the social dissociation against the measure. North Dakota activists said they would continue to support a marijuana legalization initiative, but it is more likely they will qualify for the 2022 election. Citing concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak, activists in Washington state announced last week that they would instead target the legislature. They plan to campaign on a measure to decriminalize and treat the drug, according to the Washington Post.