LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Nebraska is only one of two US states that does not currently allow access to medical marijuana. It’s the push for change that inspired two of the six initiatives on Nebraska’s November ballot.

The successively occurring initiative 437 and initiative 438 are interrelated measures that both must pass to be successful.

If passed, Bill 437 would decriminalize possession of up to five ounces of marijuana as long as it is prescribed for medical reasons by a healthcare professional.

Bill 438 would create a regulatory board to oversee the industry and eliminate penalties for the prescription and sale of marijuana for medical reasons.

Attempts to place similar initiatives on past ballots have failed in recent years.

Although the petition collected enough signatures in 2020, the measure was removed from the ballot by the Nebraska Supreme Court after the court found that it violated the state constitution’s single-subject rule.

In 2022, petitioners failed to collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Supporters and opponents of the measures shared their sides at a public hearing earlier this month.

Supporters like Crista Eggers, who spearheaded the legalization of Medical Marijuana for Nebraskans, said legalizing marijuana would help alleviate the suffering of suffering patients in Nebraska who currently travel out of state to obtain marijuana.

“Patients deserve better than going to the black market,” Eggers said. “Go to the gray market, go out of state, or continue to suffer.”

Nebraska state comptroller Mike Foley, who appears to be a Nebraska citizen outside of any government office, spoke dissentingly at the hearing, citing the negative societal impacts that marijuana legalization would have.

“Marijuana is a drug of abuse,” Foley said. “It is physiologically and psychologically addictive and can have serious side effects such as short- and long-term impairment and drug interactions. It can cause obvious negative effects in both individuals and society.”

A. latest poll The survey of nearly 1,000 registered Nebraska voters conducted by Midwest Newsroom and Emerson College Polling found that 59% of respondents were in favor of legalizing medical marijuana.

For more information about voting in November, see: voter guide on our website.

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