Nebraska is one of just five states without any sort of medical cannabis program but freshman nonpartisan State Sen. Anna Wishart is looking to change that this year, the Omaha World-Herald reports. Wishart said her measure would be of the limited variety – much like the proposal that fell just three votes short in the state last session – allowing for cannabis medicine in pill, liquid or vapor forms.
“There are people desperate and in need,” Wishart said in the report, noting that during her door-to-door campaigning a lot of people expressed support for a comprehensive medical cannabis program. “I can guarantee you they are in every single senator’s district.”
However, the Nebraska legislature saw 17 new Senators win seats in the last election, and while the body is officially a “non-partisan” majority, nearly all leadership posts in the Senate will go to conservative members. Advocates believe that even if the measure passes the legislature it will be vetoed by Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts.
“I’m putting more faith in a ballot initiative than a legislative bill,” Shelley Gillian, whose 14-year-old son suffers from daily seizures, said.
According to Matt Schweich, director of state campaigns for the Marijuana Policy Project, the organization is “very seriously” considering a ballot initiative push in 2018 if lawmakers fail to act.
“It’s going to be a public policy in Nebraska at some time in the future,” he said. “I hope that legislators see that.”