Nebraska Medical Marijuana Regulation Initiative (2022)
| Nebraska Medical Marijuana Regulation Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Marijuana | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Nebraska Medical Marijuana Regulation Initiative was not on the ballot in Nebraska as an initiated state statute on November 8, 2022.
The initiative would have enacted the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act. The act would have legalized the possession, manufacture, distribution, delivery, and dispensing of marijuana for medical purposes. It would have established the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to regulate and provide the necessary registration for the medical marijuana program. The commission would have consisted of at least three members but no more than five. The three members of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission would have been ex officio members of the new commission. The governor would have appointed two additional members subject to approval by the state legislature to serve six-year terms on the commission. The commission would have been charged with establishing criteria and processes for registration. It would have had the authority to subpoena witnesses and records; inspect the operations of registered marijuana establishments; and impose fines for violations of rules and regulations.[1][2]
Text of measure
Object statement
The object statement for the initiative was as follows:[1]
| “ | The object of this petition is to enact a statute that makes penalties inapplicable under state law for the possession, manufacture, distribution, delivery, and dispensing of cannabis for medical purposes by registered private entities, and establishing a Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to regulate such entitites.[3] | ” |
Full text
- The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Nebraska, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 7 percent of registered voters as of the deadline for filing signatures. Because of the unique signature requirement based on registered voters, Nebraska is also the only state where petition sponsors cannot know the exact number of signatures required until they are submitted. Nebraska law also features a distribution requirement mandating that petitions contain signatures from 5 percent of the registered voters in each of two-fifths (38) of Nebraska's 93 counties.
Signatures must be submitted at least four months prior to the next general election. Signatures do not roll over; they become invalid after the next general election at least four months after the initial initiative application filing. Depending on when the initiative application is filed, petitioners can have up to just under two years to circulate petitions.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 86,776
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was July 7, 2022.
Signatures are submitted to the secretary of state. The secretary of state sends the appropriate signature petitions to each county, where county election officials verify the signatures. Upon receiving the signatures back from county officials, the secretary of state determines whether or not the requirements were met.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was filed by State Senators Anna Wishart (D) and Adam Morfeld (D) on September 2, 2021.[2]
- The sponsors had also filed the Nebraska Medical Marijuana Program Initiative and the Nebraska Medical Marijuana Initiative.
- On July 7, 2022, the campaign filed 90,000 signatures with the secretary of state.[4]
- On August 22, 2022, the secretary of state informed the sponsors of the initiative that it did not meet the signature requirement, and therefore would not appear on the 2022 ballot. The petition contained 77,119 valid signatures and met the distribution requirement in 27 counties.[5][6]
Lawsuit
| Lawsuit overview | |
| Issue: Whether the state's distribution requirement is constitutional | |
| Court: United States District Court for the District of Nebraska | |
| Ruling: Ruled in favor of defendant; distribution requirement is constitutional | |
| Plaintiff(s): Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and ACLU | Defendant(s): Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) |
| Plaintiff argument: The state's distribution requirement is unconstitutional because it gives disproportionate influence to less populated counties. | Defendant argument: The state's distribution requirement is constitutional. |
Source: Marijuana Moment
On May 16, 2022, the campaign filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court challenging the distribution requirement's constitutionality. The lawsuit said, "Nebraska’s counties vary widely in population. As a result, Nebraska’s signature distribution requirement gives disproportionate influence to voters in sparsely populated counties."[7]
On June 13, 2022, a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska issued an order temporarily blocking the state's distribution requirement pending a final decision on its constitutionality.[8]
On July 6, 2022, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the lower court's ruling allowing the Nebraska Secretary of State to enforce the distribution requirement.[9]
On August 31, 2022, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the distribution requirement was constitutional and that the equal protection clause does not apply to the state ballot initiative process.[10]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nebraska Secretary of State, "Full text," accessed October 18, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nebraska Secretary of State, "Petitions in circulation," accessed August 4, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Marijuana Moment, "Nebraska Medical Marijuana Activists Turn In Ballot Signatures After Campaign Suffers Legal Setback," July 7, 2022
- ↑ Nebraska Journal Star, "Medical marijuana initiative petitions fail to make November ballot," August 22, 2022
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Medical Marijuana Initiatives fail to make the November Ballot," August 22, 2022
- ↑ Marijuana Moment, "Nebraska Medical Marijuana Activists File Lawsuit Over Ballot Rules," May 17, 2022
- ↑ KLIN, "Medical Marijuana Petition Drive Granted Temporary Injunction on Ballot Qualification Requirement," June 14, 2022
- ↑ Nebraska Public Media, "Court Ruling Could Disrupt Ballot Initiative Plans in Nebraska," July 6, 2022
- ↑ KETV, "Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana dealt another blow in legal battle," August 31, 2022
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