Many voters in Nebraska may be discouraged to learn that the state has pulled medicinal cannabis from the ballot this year.
A state Supreme Court ruling Thursday said that the measure set to appear on the November ballot is unconstitutional.
Had the measure been able to pass, it would have created business opportunities to cultivate and sell medical marijuana.
Gov. Pete Ricketts has argued that the state shouldn’t legalize cannabis because it isn’t approved by federal regulators. Members of the state’s law enforcement also opposed the measure.
Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner had filed the challenge to Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s initial decision that the medical marijuana initiative qualified to be on the ballot this year.
“If voters are to intelligently adopt a state policy with regard to medicinal cannabis use, they must first be allowed to decide that issue alone, unencumbered by other subjects,” the court said in its opinion.
Advocates had collected more than 180,000 signatures in July to get the measure on the ballot.
“Our opponents are cowards,” said Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project.
“They use insider political tactics because they cannot win this debate. Medical marijuana will be legal in Nebraska one day. We lost this battle, but we will undoubtedly win the war.”
