‘We’re going to have some delays’: What’s next for Nebraska’s medical marijuana initiatives?

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – About 70% of Nebraskans voted for two medical marijuana initiatives on Tuesday, but a legal challenge could halt the change.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s office said some people who were circulating and notarizing petitions to put the measures on the ballot committed fraud.

A lawsuit over those allegations is currently in a judge’s hands, leaving Nebraskans wondering what’s next.

SEE ALSO: Judge won’t block counting of votes on Nebraska medical marijuana initiatives

Joshua Laughlin is the owner of Double Barrel Smoke, a smoke shop in Lincoln.

He hopes to sell medicinal marijuana and said he’s excited that Nebraska took a step in the right direction.

“Everybody was saying how Nebraska was going to be the last to be with medical cannabis and stuff,” he said. “But yeah, it’s pretty crazy that 2025 could be that next move.”

SEE ALSO: Fraud trial begins for Nebraska medical marijuana petitions

But Brandon Johnson, a law professor at the University of Nebraska, said because of the court case, the initiatives might not become law.

“The oddity here is that challenges to a few hundred signatures may end up throwing out a petition for a ballot initiative that got … over 600,000 votes,” he said.

After the trial ended this week, Judge Susan Strong did not rule on whether the claim of fraud was strong enough to invalidate the initiatives.

She is expected to make her decision in the next two weeks.

SEE ALSO: Thousands more signatures on Nebraska medical marijuana petitions under scrutiny

Johnson said the judge has two options if she finds there was sufficient fraud.

“She could disallow the entire petitions,” he said. “She could say, ‘Eh, we think there’s something wrong with these signatures, but the ballot sponsors can get a chance to cure those errors,’ And they can go back and kind of verify those signatures.”

Or she could side with the ballot sponsors and rule that there wasn’t widespread fraud.

SEE ALSO: Nebraska notary public charged in fraudulent petition signature probe

He said either way, the decision will likely be appealed, so Nebraskans are stuck in a waiting period.

“It’s unlikely that anything happens with the initiatives until that’s all resolved in the state Supreme Court,” he said. “We’re going to have some delays before medical marijuana will be available.”