Nebraska Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative (2018)

Nebraska Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Marijuana
Status Not on the ballot
Type State statute	Origin Citizens
List of Nebraska measuresNebraska Initiative 427Submit

The Nebraska Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative did not qualify for the ballot in Nebraska as an initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.

The measure was designed to eliminate all fines and penalties for possessing one ounce or less of marijuana starting on January 1, 2019.

As of 2018, state law provided the following penalties for possessing one ounce or less of marijuana:

• first offense was charged as an infraction, and the defendant received a citation and a $300 fine and could be required to attend a course on drug misuse
• second offense was charged as a Class IV misdemeanor, and the defendant received a citation and a $400 fine and could be imprisoned for up to five days
• third and subsequent offenses were charged as a Class IIIA misdemeanor, and the defendant received a citation and a $500 fine and was imprisoned for up to seven days

The measure would have left intact existing penalties for possessing over one ounce of marijuana.

Text of measure

Full text

The measure would have removed the following struck-through text from and added the following underlined text to Nebraska Revised Statute 28-416:

28-416. Prohibited acts; violations; penalties. (1) Except as authorized by the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally: (a) To manufacture, distribute, deliver, dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, deliver, or dispense a controlled substance; or (b) to create, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute a counterfeit controlled substance. (2) Except as provided in subsections (4), (5), (7), (8), (9), and (10) of this section, any person who violates subsection (1) of this section with respect to: (a) A controlled substance classified in Schedule I, II, or III of section 28-405 which is an exceptionally hazardous drug shall be guilty of a Class II felony; (b) any other controlled substance classified in Schedule I, II, or III of section 28-405 shall be guilty of a Class IIA felony; or (c) a controlled substance classified in Schedule IV or V of section 28-405 shall be guilty of a Class IIIA felony. (3) A person knowingly or intentionally possessing a controlled substance, except marijuana or any substance containing a quantifiable amount of the substances, chemicals, or compounds described, defined, or delineated in subdivision (c)(25) of Schedule I of section 28-405, unless such substance was obtained directly or pursuant to a medical order issued by a practitioner authorized to prescribe while acting in the course of his or her professional practice, or except as otherwise authorized by the act, shall be guilty of a Class IV felony. (4)(a) Except as authorized by the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, any person eighteen years of age or older who knowingly or intentionally manufactures, distributes, delivers, dispenses, or possesses with intent to manufacture, distribute, deliver, or dispense a controlled substance or a counterfeit controlled substance (i) to a person under the age of eighteen years, (ii) in, on, or within one thousand feet of the real property comprising a public or private elementary, vocational, or secondary school, a community college, a public or private college, junior college, or university, or a playground, or (iii) within one hundred feet of a public or private youth center, public swimming pool, or video arcade facility shall be punished by the next higher penalty classification than the penalty prescribed in subsection (2), (7), (8), (9), or (10) of this section, depending upon the controlled substance involved, for the first violation and for a second or subsequent violation shall be punished by the next higher penalty classification than that prescribed for a first violation of this subsection, but in no event shall such person be punished by a penalty greater than a Class IB felony. (b) For purposes of this subsection: (i) Playground shall mean any outdoor facility, including any parking lot appurtenant to the facility, intended for recreation, open to the public, and with any portion containing three or more apparatus intended for the recreation of children, including sliding boards, swingsets, and teeterboards; (ii) Video arcade facility shall mean any facility legally accessible to persons under eighteen years of age, intended primarily for the use of pinball and video machines for amusement, and containing a minimum of ten pinball or video machines; and (iii) Youth center shall mean any recreational facility or gymnasium, including any parking lot appurtenant to the facility or gymnasium, intended primarily for use by persons under eighteen years of age which regularly provides athletic, civic, or cultural activities. (5)(a) Except as authorized by the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, it shall be unlawful for any person eighteen years of age or older to knowingly and intentionally employ, hire, use, cause, persuade, coax, induce, entice, seduce, or coerce any person under the age of eighteen years to manufacture, transport, distribute, carry, deliver, dispense, prepare for delivery, offer for delivery, or possess with intent to do the same a controlled substance or a counterfeit controlled substance. (b) Except as authorized by the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, it shall be unlawful for any person eighteen years of age or older to knowingly and intentionally employ, hire, use, cause, persuade, coax, induce, entice, seduce, or coerce any person under the age of eighteen years to aid and abet any person in the manufacture, transportation, distribution, carrying, delivery, dispensing, preparation for delivery, offering for delivery, or possession with intent to do the same of a controlled substance or a counterfeit controlled substance. (c) Any person who violates subdivision (a) or (b) of this subsection shall be punished by the next higher penalty classification than the penalty prescribed in subsection (2), (7), (8), (9), or (10) of this section, depending upon the controlled substance involved, for the first violation and for a second or subsequent violation shall be punished by the next higher penalty classification than that prescribed for a first violation of this subsection, but in no event shall such person be punished by a penalty greater than a Class IB felony. (6) It shall not be a defense to prosecution for violation of subsection (4) or (5) of this section that the defendant did not know the age of the person through whom the defendant violated such subsection. (7) Any person who violates subsection (1) of this section with respect to cocaine or any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine in a quantity of: (a) One hundred forty grams or more shall be guilty of a Class IB felony; (b) At least twenty-eight grams but less than one hundred forty grams shall be guilty of a Class IC felony; or (c) At least ten grams but less than twenty-eight grams shall be guilty of a Class ID felony. (8) Any person who violates subsection (1) of this section with respect to base cocaine (crack) or any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of base cocaine in a quantity of: (a) One hundred forty grams or more shall be guilty of a Class IB felony; (b) At least twenty-eight grams but less than one hundred forty grams shall be guilty of a Class IC felony; or (c) At least ten grams but less than twenty-eight grams shall be guilty of a Class ID felony. (9) Any person who violates subsection (1) of this section with respect to heroin or any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin in a quantity of: (a) One hundred forty grams or more shall be guilty of a Class IB felony; (b) At least twenty-eight grams but less than one hundred forty grams shall be guilty of a Class IC felony; or (c) At least ten grams but less than twenty-eight grams shall be guilty of a Class ID felony. (10) Any person who violates subsection (1) of this section with respect to amphetamine, its salts, optical isomers, and salts of its isomers, or with respect to methamphetamine, its salts, optical isomers, and salts of its isomers, in a quantity of: (a) One hundred forty grams or more shall be guilty of a Class IB felony; (b) At least twenty-eight grams but less than one hundred forty grams shall be guilty of a Class IC felony; or (c) At least ten grams but less than twenty-eight grams shall be guilty of a Class ID felony. (11) Any person knowingly or intentionally possessing marijuana weighing more than one ounce but not more than one pound shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor. (12) Any person knowingly or intentionally possessing marijuana weighing more than one pound shall be guilty of a Class IV felony. (13) Any person knowingly or intentionally possessing marijuana weighing one ounce or less or any substance containing a quantifiable amount of the substances, chemicals, or compounds described, defined, or delineated in subdivision (c)(25) of Schedule I of section 28-405 shall: (a) For the first offense, be guilty of an infraction, receive a citation, be fined three hundred dollars, and be assigned to attend a course as prescribed in section 29-433 if the judge determines that attending such course is in the best interest of the individual defendant; (b) For the second offense, be guilty of a Class IV misdemeanor, receive a citation, and be fined four hundred dollars and may be imprisoned not to exceed five days; and (c) For the third and all subsequent offenses, be guilty of a Class IIIA misdemeanor, receive a citation, be fined five hundred dollars, and be imprisoned not to exceed seven days. (a) not be guilty of any criminal offense. (14) Any person convicted of violating this section, if placed on probation, shall, as a condition of probation, satisfactorily attend and complete appropriate treatment and counseling on drug abuse provided by a program authorized under the Nebraska Behavioral Health Services Act or other licensed drug treatment facility. (15) Any person convicted of violating this section, if sentenced to the Department of Correctional Services, shall attend appropriate treatment and counseling on drug abuse. (16) Any person knowingly or intentionally possessing a firearm while in violation of subsection (1) of this section shall be punished by the next higher penalty classification than the penalty prescribed in subsection (2), (7), (8), (9), or (10) of this section, but in no event shall such person be punished by a penalty greater than a Class IB felony. (17) A person knowingly or intentionally in possession of money used or intended to be used to facilitate a violation of subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of a Class IV felony. (18) In addition to the existing penalties available for a violation of subsection (1) of this section, including any criminal attempt or conspiracy to violate subsection (1) of this section, a sentencing court may order that any money, securities, negotiable instruments, firearms, conveyances, or electronic communication devices as defined in section 28-833 or any equipment, components, peripherals, software, hardware, or accessories related to electronic communication devices be forfeited as a part of the sentence imposed if it finds by clear and convincing evidence adduced at a separate hearing in the same prosecution, following conviction for a violation of subsection (1) of this section, and conducted pursuant to section 28-1601, that any or all such property was derived from, used, or intended to be used to facilitate a violation of subsection (1) of this section. (19) In addition to the penalties provided in this section: (a) If the person convicted or adjudicated of violating this section is eighteen years of age or younger and has one or more licenses or permits issued under the Motor Vehicle Operator's License Act: (i) For the first offense, the court may, as a part of the judgment of conviction or adjudication, (A) impound any such licenses or permits for thirty days and (B) require such person to attend a drug education class; (ii) For a second offense, the court may, as a part of the judgment of conviction or adjudication, (A) impound any such licenses or permits for ninety days and (B) require such person to complete no fewer than twenty and no more than forty hours of community service and to attend a drug education class; and (iii) For a third or subsequent offense, the court may, as a part of the judgment of conviction or adjudication, (A) impound any such licenses or permits for twelve months and (B) require such person to complete no fewer than sixty hours of community service, to attend a drug education class, and to submit to a drug assessment by a licensed alcohol and drug counselor; and (b) If the person convicted or adjudicated of violating this section is eighteen years of age or younger and does not have a permit or license issued under the Motor Vehicle Operator's License Act: (i) For the first offense, the court may, as part of the judgment of conviction or adjudication, (A) prohibit such person from obtaining any permit or any license pursuant to the act for which such person would otherwise be eligible until thirty days after the date of such order and (B) require such person to attend a drug education class; (ii) For a second offense, the court may, as part of the judgment of conviction or adjudication, (A) prohibit such person from obtaining any permit or any license pursuant to the act for which such person would otherwise be eligible until ninety days after the date of such order and (B) require such person to complete no fewer than twenty hours and no more than forty hours of community service and to attend a drug education class; and (iii) For a third or subsequent offense, the court may, as part of the judgment of conviction or adjudication, (A) prohibit such person from obtaining any permit or any license pursuant to the act for which such person would otherwise be eligible until twelve months after the date of such order and (B) require such person to complete no fewer than sixty hours of community service, to attend a drug education class, and to submit to a drug assessment by a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. A copy of an abstract of the court's conviction or adjudication shall be transmitted to the Director of Motor Vehicles pursuant to sections 60-497.01 to 60-497.04 if a license or permit is impounded or a juvenile is prohibited from obtaining a license or permit under this subsection.

Developments in federal marijuana policy

See also: Federal policy on marijuana, 2017-2018

Although the Department of Justice under Presidents Trump (R) and Obama (D) has not prosecuted most individuals and businesses following state and local marijuana laws as of January 2018, both medical and recreational marijuana are illegal under federal law. In November 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R)—a Trump nominee—told Congress that the policy of his office would stay fundamentally the same as that of the previous two attorneys general, Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch. On January 4, 2018, however, Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo, a 2013 directive that deprioritized the enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states where marijuana had been legalized. This allows federal prosecutors to decide whether or not to enforce federal law regarding marijuana.

Click here to read more about developments in federal policy on marijuana under the Trump administration.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Nebraska

In order to qualify a citizen initiated statute for the ballot, supporters were required to collect valid signatures totaling a minimum of 7 percent of registered voters on the day that signatures were filed. Signatures were due four months prior to the election on November 6, 2018, which was around July 6, 2018.

Supporters of the initiative began collecting signatures on August 5, 2016. No signatures were filed by the deadline.

See also

Suggest a link

• Nebraska 2018 ballot measures
• 2018 ballot measures
• List of Nebraska ballot measures