John SchroyerA Nebraska judge sided with the campaign behind a pair of victorious medical marijuana ballot measures and tossed out fraud allegations, clearing the way for the pro-cannabis laws to be implemented and a new cannabis market launched in the Midwestern state.
In a legal action brought by former state Sen. John Kuehn, Secretary of State Bob Evnen and Attorney General Mike Hilgers, state officials alleged that Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana had broken procedural law when collecting and remitting voter signatures to qualify Initiatives 437 and 438 for the ballot this month.
But on Tuesday, Lancaster County District Court Judge Susan Strong disagreed and wrote in her ruling that she was only able to find a bare minimum of invalid signatures, contrary to claims by the state, the Nebraska Examiner reported.
Rather, Strong was only able to find 711 signatures for one of the questions and 826 for another, but that they both still appeared to have far more than the required 86,499 signatures for ballot access.
“The petitions fulfill all constitutional and statutory requirements and are thus, legally sufficient under Nebraska law,” Strong wrote.
Hilgers’ office is likely to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court, the Nebraska Examiner reported, but the ruling gives legs to cannabis activists who are eager to see the state launch a functional medical marijuana market.
The election results are scheduled to be certified next week, but it’s not clear yet just when Nebraska authorities may start work on a framework for the regulated cannabis market, business licensing and industry rules.
This year, the Nebraska campaign was the only cannabis legalization push to claim victory at the ballot box. Legalization questions in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota were all defeated by voters.
