Medical marijuana petitions advance across state

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Two petitions on medical marijuana initiatives are making their way across Nebraska.  If 7% of registered voters sign the petitions, the initiatives will appear on the 2022 Election Day ballot.

One is focused on giving patients the right to use medical cannabis when a doctor deems it a necessary treatment.

Currently, families caught with marijuana are in violation of the law, even when using it to treat a patient.  Possession of one ounce or less of cannabis in Nebraska is an infraction, possession of an ounce to a pound is a misdemeanor, and possession of more than a pound is a felony

“We’re turned into criminals,” said Crista Eggers, advocate for medical marijuana. “Parents are put in this indescribably painful position of choosing: do I risk losing my children to possibly save one of my children?  The pain in that every single day is something that I hope another parent never has to understand, but far too many people in this state understand that situation that they face each and every day.”

This petition would require a doctor to prescribe the drug as treatment like any other medication.  It would not allow for recreational use.

“Like my son for instance,” Eggers said.  “The doctors who are prescribing the pharmaceutical meds, who are talking about surgery, talking about other treatment options, it would just allow us to also have the conversation in the same exact way as we talk about all these other issues.”

The second petition deals with the production and where the cannabis would come from.

According to Jared Moffat, an advocate for medical marijuana, the bill would explicitly set up producers, cultivators and dispensaries as well as a commission to regulate all three.

“We hear from supporters, some of whom live in rural parts of the state, and… this is absolutely something that the agricultural sector could use as a boost,” Moffat said. “I think there is a lot of interest from the agricultural folks.”

As people determine the way they want the policy to grow and be regulated, Sen. Mike Groene and the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) have both proposed additional bills prior to the introduction of this one.

Sen. Groene’s bill states limitations on patients who are eligible, while the Patient Rights Petition from NMM would allow a doctor to decide.