LINCOLN- On Thursday, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana filed paperwork with the Nebraska Secretary of State's Office to begin collecting signatures and potentially place the subject on the 2024 ballot. Christa Eggers, a spokeswoman for the advocates, said the effort is starting earlier than usual in an attempt to gather more than the 100,000 signatures required to place the initiative on the ballot.

"We have no choice but to keep petitioning our government," said Eggers, "The Legislature refuses to act despite the will of over 80% of Nebraskans, from all parties, regions, ages, etc. supporting this." Last year the petition drive to put medical marijuana on the 2022 ballot failed to gather enough signatures, and the organization pushing for it was facing financial issues that impeded the hiring of professional petition circulators.

In 2020, a medical marijuana ballot initiative was tossed off the ballot after the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that it violated the state's "single subject" rule. In 2021, a bill in the Legislature that would have legalized medical marijuana came just two votes short of overcoming a filibuster. Advocates of medical marijuana maintain that cannabis is an effective and safe medical alternative that has helped relieve pain, seizures, and PTSD.

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