LINCOLN- Supporters of medical marijuana in Nebraska have launched a legal challenge to the state’s requirement that 5% of registered voters in at least 38 counties sign a petition to get the measure before voters on the ballot.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska in filing the federal civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court.

The organizations requested a decision by July 7 on the constitutionality of the multicounty signature distribution requirement. They also requested a court order to suspend the requirement by that date, which is the deadline for petitioners to submit their collected signatures.

The lawsuit argues that the multicounty distribution requirement is an unconstitutional roadblock that violates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of free speech and the 14th Amendment’s equal protection and due process clauses.

“Nebraska’s counties vary widely in population,” the lawsuit says. “As a result, Nebraska’s signature distribution requirement gives disproportionate influence to voters in sparsely populated counties.”

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