If it seems as if there has been an effort in Nebraska to legalize marijuana use for medicinal purposes at one election after another, it’s because supporters of the efforts have been persistent.
The Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana organization has been pushing to get the issue on the ballot for years. In 2020, for example, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that a citizen initiative could not be on the ballot because it violated the rule about initiatives being limited to a single subject. In 2022, similar efforts were derailed when a major financial backer died in an airplane crash.
This year, supporters successfully have collected enough signatures of registered voters to place two related questions on the ballot – one pertaining to the legalization of marijuana use for medical purposes and the other for the regulation of it.
Yet, again this year, legal challenges have been mounted. As of this writing, it’s possible that Nebraskans will be voting on the two ballot proposals on Nov. 5, but the ultimate decision may come later via the judicial system.
Throughout this year’s efforts — and those from earlier years, too — we consistently have expressed concerns and reservations. They have not abated.
We acknowledge that there are components of cannabis that provide therapeutic effects, and we recognize that polls indicate a majority of Nebraskans may support the legalization efforts.
But we must point out that the federal government still classifies marijuana as an illegal drug, no matter what some individual states have decided on their own. We would be much more comfortable in having Nebraska decide this issue once — or if — the federal government weighs in based on scientific and medical evidence.
One of the nation’s leading bipartisan opposition organizations — Smart Approach to Marijuana — makes these valid points: “There are far too many Americans who suffer from life-threatening, debilitating chronic illness. Patients deserve to know that we are doing everything possible to help alleviate their pain in a safe, regulated way. However, the smoked form of marijuana does not meet the standard as safe and effective modern medicine. Smoking the plant is not an efficient delivery system, as it is impossible to measure exact dosage and contains hundreds of additional components that could have adverse or unknown effects.”
We also continue to have concerns that if medicinal marijuana is approved in Nebraska, it will only be a matter of time before efforts will be under way to legalize recreational use. The problems associated with that — Colorado is a prime example — are many.
We support expanded research for medical marijuana so long as it is studied and approved the way all other medications are treated. From our perspective, medicinal marijuana should be allowed only once approved by the Federal Drug Administration, prescribed by a physician and dispensed by a pharmacy.
As a result, we encourage Northeast and North Central Nebraska to vote against the two marijuana-related proposals on the general election ballot.