The deadline for ballot initiatives to submit valid signatures is rapidly approaching, and the advocacy group Nebraska for Medical Marijuana (NMM) is requesting help from supporters to obtain the signatures for their initiative to pass.

NMM campaign manager Crista Eggers recently sent out an email asking for help on June 6. 

“There is no doubt we are farther ahead than in past petition drives, but still have a tremendous push to gather over 30,000 signatures on each petition over the next 27 days to assure we are successful,” Eggers said.

Eggers has spent numerous years advocating for medical cannabis legalization. Her son has suffered from epileptic seizures since he was two years old, and she saw the relief and benefits that medical cannabis offered to him in comparison to pharmaceutical medicines. “There is no doubt Nebraskans want to see this on the ballot, so we need them to step up and help make that happen,” Eggers said. “My personal ask, not as a campaign manager, but as a mother, is that people would react as if their child’s life depends on it and go sign; because for many of us, our child’s life really does depend on it.”

By July 3, NMM’s initiative must be submitted with signatures from 7% of voters. Additionally, the signatures must be collected from voters in at least 38 counties throughout the state (which has a total of 93 counties).  “We made the counties our main focus because they require a great deal of time and resources that cannot wait until the last minute,” Eggers said. “We have the counties, but we have an urgent need to collect bulk signatures.” At least 87,000 signatures would need to be verified by the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office before being approved to appear on the ballot.

NMM recently shared on social media that one of its volunteers is watching their child suffer from a condition that could be treated with medical cannabis. “There’s a parent sitting in the hospital right now, exhausted and desperate for help for their suffering child who lay in the bed before them,” the post stated. “With nothing left to try, they cling onto the hope that medical cannabis may someday bring relief to this hell they are living. With only 29 days until signature turn in, and thousands of signatures to still be collected, this parent, and patients across this state are begging for help. Be a part of something today, that may change someone’s life tomorrow. #getinvolved #cannabisismedicine”.

This year’s ballot initiative marks the third time that advocates have worked to get medical cannabis legalized. The first was in 2020, which did not make it onto the ballot because the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that it violated the state’s single-subject rule. Another attempt was made in 2022, but it also didn’t make it onto the ballot because NMM didn’t collect signatures from voters in at least 38 counties.

Medical cannabis isn’t the only hot-button topic aiming for ballot consideration includes an amendment that would eliminate property tax, income tax, sales tax, and inheritance tax, a law that would require employers to provide paid sick leave for workers, and three separate amendments to either permit or ban abortions.

Nebraska is one of few states that haven’t legalized medical cannabis yet, including Idaho, Kansas, Wyoming, North Carolina and South Carolina.

This year’s voting opportunities include four primary cannabis-related ballots. In Idaho, which doesn’t allow any form of cannabis use, a group called Kind Idaho was working to collect signatures for the Idaho Medical Marijuana Initiative. Although it will not appear on this year’s ballot, it would have allowed patients with chronic conditions or who are terminally ill to use cannabis to treat their symptoms. It would also have included protections for those patients so they wouldn’t have to worry about prosecution for cannabis use.

In South Dakota, Measure 29 (or The South Dakota Marijuana Legalization Initiative) is officially on the ballot, which would legalize adult-use cannabis consumption, possession, and distribution. Technically both medical and recreational cannabis were legalized by voters back in 2020 but in 2021 the recreational initiative was found to be unconstitutional. Voters also rejected another attempt to legalize adult-use cannabis in 2022.

Meanwhile, there has been strong support for adult-use cannabis legalization in Florida. According to a recent poll, 66% of Florida voters plan to support the initiative. By party, 76% of Democrats support the initiative, alongside 71% of Independents and 57% of Republicans. The likelihood of legalization is strong, considering that a constitutional amendment requires 60% or more of votes on the ballot in order to pass. “Floridians want and deserve the same right to consume recreational marijuana that more than half the country already enjoys,” said Smart & Safe Florida campaign manager Morgan Hill. “This poll reflects what we at Smart & Safe Florida know to be true: legalizing recreational adult-use marijuana is good for Floridians’ health, safety, and individual freedom.”

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Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) recently provided an update on its journey to collect the necessary number of signatures to qualify its two cannabis legalization ballot initiatives for 2024. 

In order to qualify, Nebraska initiatives need enough to cover 7% of voters in the state, as well as 5% of voters from 38 of the 98 total Nebraska counties. NMM stated that it has collected signatures in 16 counties so far, and plans to add four more counties to that list before the end of 2023.

According to NMM, it will need to collect 125,000 raw signatures for both of its petitions and submit them no later than July 3, 2024. This includes the Patient Protection Act (which would protect patients using medical cannabis from prosecution) and the Medical Cannabis Regulation Act (which would implement a commission to manage a state program and develop a regulatory framework).

In preparation for the year to come, the advocacy group recently asked its followers and supporters on social media to send in any lingering signature petitions as soon as possible. “Nebraska medical cannabis warriors – we need every petition in the state back ASAP so that we can get an accurate count going in to 2024,” NMM wrote. “Whether you have 1 signature or 100 signatures, please send them now. This is crucial for us to allocate our resources wisely next year.”

In an email newsletter, NMM campaign manager Crista Eggers wrote a positive statement about what they’ve accomplished so far, and praised volunteers for their hard work so far. “Since relaunching our campaign, I’m inspired and hopeful to see Nebraskans of all ages, regions, and political affiliations coming together to support legalizing medical marijuana,” Eggers wrote. “Door knocking, house calls, and stopping by a few local establishments, combined with the force and drive of two amazing grassroots collectors, was a force to be reckoned with.”

Earlier this month, NMM posted a story on its social media pages sharing the efforts of two individuals who put their best foot forward for the cause. “Two amazing people went into a county today to collect what we needed to qualify it. Night fell and they still needed about 15 more signatures. They were told they could call it a day, but they said no. They talked with every single person. They made house calls. And they just collected that final signature that got them to their goal,” Eggers explained. “This campaign is made up of these types of stories. This campaign is made up of these types of people. This campaign doesn’t quit until the job is done. Bring it 2024…”

The medical cannabis ballot initiative campaign was launched by NMM earlier this year in May. “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.”

Unfortunately, there are key government legislators contributing to the opposition, including Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen recently said that medical cannabis “poses demonstrated harms to our children.” “Access to medical marijuana should only happen if it has undergone the FDA-approved process,” Pillen said in September.

Back in 2021, Sen. Pete Ricketts made headlines when he said: “If you legalize marijuana, you’re going to kill your kids.” Eggers, who is mother to a son who has suffered from epileptic seizures since he was two, responded to the statement at the time, explaining that she knows what’s best for her child. “I know what is killing my child, and that is having horrific seizures daily for the last five, six years,” Eggers said.

A medical cannabis ballot initiative was initially proposed in 2020 but it did not make it onto the ballot because of a Supreme court ruling about the state’s single-subject rule. Advocates got right back to work in 2021 with their eyes set on 2022. “We’ve received so much encouragement from individuals all across the state, who support the many patients like our son Colton, who desperately need access to this medicine,” Eggers wrote at the time. “No matter what your political background is, we should all agree that criminalizing a medicine that has the potential to alleviate suffering, is both cruel and inhumane.” Unfortunately, that initiative didn’t meet the requirement either because volunteers didn’t quite meet the 5% voter signature requirement from 38 out of 93 counties.

Sen. Anna Wishart is the NMM co-chair and has been supporting medical cannabis legislative efforts in the past, although many attempts were met with opposition and stalled in the legislature. Most recently in January 2023, she introduced a medical cannabis bill that she called “one of the most conservative medical cannabis bills in the nation,” but it didn’t not receive any additional advancements after April.

In September Eggers said she looks forward to the day when she can tell her son that they finally succeeded in bringing medical cannabis to their home state. “I do know that day will come when I get to tell him and that he will understand that by sharing something that’s very personal and very painful, he helped make a change,” Eggers told the Nebraska Examiner. “Someday there will be a parent that I get to talk to and they won’t have had to fight this battle.”

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As Germany looks ahead to potentially legalize adult-use cannabis in 2024, another European country is hoping to follow suit. So far, the quick progress and public interest is promising.

Cannabis reform advocates in Italy shared last week that in just one week they reached nearly half of the required signatures needed to place a cannabis legalization measure before the parliament. Campaigning began earlier in December, and advocates have six months to gather the 50,000 total signatures.

The legalization bill, with the translated title “The decriminalization of the cultivation for personal use and in associated form of cannabis,” would allow for individuals to cultivate up to four cannabis plants for personal use and would create cannabis social clubs to grow and distribute to its members. The bill would also allow for individuals to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis, and the current “administrative penalties provided for today, such as the withdrawal of [a driver’s] license and passport, will be abolished,” according to the campaign.

The effort is the second recent push in Italy for cannabis reform. The first looked at cannabis legalization and psychedelic reform back in 2021, though the referendum was ultimately blocked by a top Italian court from going before voters because it did not meet constitutional standards.

Some of the same organizers who supported that first effort, including advocate and former Italian senator Marco Perduca, are once again fighting for this new cannabis-specific effort.

“Despite the defeat we suffered after the collection of signatures with the legal cannabis referendum, we have decided to insist until things change,” Perduca recently said in a translated email to supporters. “Parliament will be forced to listen to us, but only when we have collected 50,000 signatures. Don’t miss your signature to change Italy.”’

Antonella Soldo, a coordinator with one of the petition’s lead advocacy groups Associazione Meglio Legale (Better Legal Association), pointed to the immediate interest and support surrounding the cannabis legislation, calling the response “no coincidence“ in a statement.

“Do you know why this issue is so popular? Because it’s about people’s lives,” Soldo said. “Because every Italian family knows what anti-drug dogs mean in schools, the fear of stigma, of criminalization. The fight against cannabis is nothing more than a useless waste of resources that does not serve to stop the mafias but instead impacts people.”

A growing number of countries in Europe are turning to adult-use cannabis legalization, though Germany has garnered substantial attention recently as it steadily inches forward to ushering in its new era of legal recreational cannabis. Meglio Legale touched on following in Germany’s footsteps in a Facebook post earlier this week, nodding to German Prime Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach’s comment that the initiative is aimed at protecting “the good of young people.”

“And in Italy everything is silent? Not really,” the translated post reads. “A few days ago Better Legal and 30 other associations launched a bill on a popular initiative to ‘do like in Germany’ and legalize domestic cannabis growing.”

According to Soldo, the Italian bill was also inspired by Germany’s legislation.

“In a few months, Germany will legalize the cultivation of cannabis,” she said. “At that point, the Italian Parliament can no longer refuse to acknowledge that prohibition has failed.”

The German draft law would allow residents to grow up to three plants at home, possessing no more than 50 grams of cannabis cultivation at home. The legislation would also allow people to carry 25-30 grams of cannabis in public and 50-60 grams in private. It would also similarly open social clubs to grow and distribute cannabis exclusively to members.

Legalization of cannabis possession and cultivation is set to take effect on April 1, 2024, while cannabis social clubs would be established later in the year.

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The supporters of a proposed ballot measure to legalize adult-use cannabis in Ohio last week submitted petitions with more than 6,500 additional signatures from voters who would like to see the proposal appear on the ballot for this year’s general election. The supplemental signatures were collected and delivered by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol on Thursday after the group’s original submission last month fell just short of the threshold to trigger a vote on the proposal.

“This submission validates what we’ve said all along: regulating marijuana is popular in Ohio,” campaign spokesman Thomas Haren said in a statement to The Columbus Dispatch on August 3. “We’re looking forward to giving Ohio voters a chance to make their voices heard at the ballot this fall.”

Signature Gathering Originally Fell Short

The coalition submitted more than 222,000 signatures to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in early July, far more than the 124,046 needed for the initiative to qualify for the ballot for the November 2023 general election. But three weeks later, LaRose revealed that the campaign had collected just over 123,000 verified signatures, adding that the signature verification and tabulation results “indicate that petitioners filed an insufficient number of valid signatures.” He also noted that the campaign would have 10 days to obtain and submit the additional signatures needed to hit the goal.

“To submit a sufficient number of valid signatures, petitioners need an additional 679 valid signatures that are not contained in the original or prior supplementary petitions,” LaRose wrote in a statement on July 25.

After the announcement from the secretary of state, the legalization campaign acknowledged the group’s shortfall in a statement, saying that making up the difference to reach the signature goal would be “easy.”

“It looks like we came up a little short in this first phase, but now we have 10 days to find just 679 voters to sign a supplemental petition – this is going to be easy, because a majority of Ohioans support our proposal to regulate and tax adult-use marijuana,” Haren said in a statement to The Columbus Dispatch. “We look forward to giving Ohio voters a chance to make their voices heard this November.”

The group set to work to gather additional signatures from voters across the state of Ohio, using social media platforms including Reddit to publicize signature-gathering drives. Last week, the campaign submitted an additional 6,545 signatures, one day before the 10-day deadline. 

The supplemental petitions will now be delivered to county election boards, where signature verification will take place over an eight-day period. Results from election boards will then be reviewed by LaRose, who will announce if the campaign has received enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. On Thursday, the coalition said that legalizing marijuana will benefit the community.

“It works, generates hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue every year and makes sure that consumers have an alternative to the illicit market where they can buy products that they’re confident aren’t laced with illicit substances,” Haren said.

Proposed Ballot Measure Would Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis

If passed, the proposed ballot initiative would legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio for adults 21 and older, who would be permitted to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 15 grams of cannabis concentrates. The proposal also legalizes marijuana cultivation for personal use, with adults allowed to grow up to six cannabis plants. Households with more than one adult would be permitted to grow a total of 12 plants. 

The commercial production and sales of cannabis products would be regulated by a new state agency named the Division of Cannabis Control, which would have the authority to “license, regulate, investigate, and penalize adult use cannabis operators, adult use testing laboratories, and individuals required to be licensed.” Cannabis products would carry a 10% tax, which would be dedicated to administrative costs of regulation, substance misuse treatment programs and a social equity and jobs program. Local governments with licensed recreational marijuana dispensaries would also receive a share of cannabis tax revenue. Under the proposal’s social equity program, some cannabis cultivation and dispensary licenses would be reserved for individuals from communities that have faced disproportionate enforcement of Ohio’s current marijuana laws.

“We are proposing to regulate marijuana for adult use, just like we do for alcohol,” Haren said in a press release when the campaign was launched nearly two years ago. “Our proposal fixes a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, and benefiting everyone.”

Ohio legalized medical marijuana in 2016 through a bill passed by the state legislature, leading to the opening of the state’s first regulated cannabis dispensaries in 2019. In 2015, an earlier proposal to legalize adult-use cannabis was successfully added to the ballot, but the measure was defeated by more than 65% of the state’s voters.

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A campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio fell short of the number of verified signatures needed to qualify a proposed ballot measure for the ballot, missing its goal by less than 700 signatures. The effort is not dead, however, as activists have been given 10 more days to make up the signature deficit.

On Tuesday, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced that the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol had collected more than 123,000 valid signatures from registered voters to put the adult-use cannabis legalization initiative on the ballot for an election to be held in November. However, he said that the results of the signature verification and tabulation “indicate that petitioners filed an insufficient number of valid signatures,” adding that the campaign would have 10 days to obtain and submit the additional signatures needed to hit the goal of 124,046 valid signatures.

“To submit a sufficient number of valid signatures, petitioners need an additional 679 valid signatures that are not contained in the original or prior supplementary petitions,” LaRose wrote in a statement.

After the announcement from the secretary of state, Tom Haren, a spokesman for the legalization campaign, acknowledged the group’s shortfall in a statement on Tuesday, saying that making up the difference to reach the signature goal would be “easy.”

“It looks like we came up a little short in this first phase, but now we have 10 days to find just 679 voters to sign a supplemental petition – this is going to be easy, because a majority of Ohioans support our proposal to regulate and tax adult-use marijuana,” Haren said in a statement to the Columbus Dispatch. “We look forward to giving Ohio voters a chance to make their voices heard this November.”

If the signature goal is met, the state ballot board will convene to certify the language used on the ballot and begin efforts to prepare for the November election.

Proposal Would Legalize Weed For Adults

If passed, the proposed ballot initiative would legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio for adults 21 and older, who would be permitted to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 15 grams of cannabis concentrates. The proposal also legalizes marijuana cultivation for personal use, with adults allowed to grow up to six cannabis plants. Households with more than one adult would be permitted to grow a total of 12 plants. 

The commercial production and sales of cannabis products would be regulated by a new state agency named the Division of Cannabis Control, which would have the authority to “license, regulate, investigate, and penalize adult use cannabis operators, adult use testing laboratories, and individuals required to be licensed.” Cannabis products would carry a 10% tax, which would be dedicated to administrative costs of regulation, substance misuse treatment programs and a social equity and jobs program. Local governments with licensed recreational marijuana dispensaries would also receive a share of cannabis tax revenue. Under the proposal’s social equity program, some cannabis cultivation and dispensary licenses would be reserved for individuals from communities that have faced disproportionate enforcement of Ohio’s current marijuana laws.

“We are proposing to regulate marijuana for adult use, just like we do for alcohol,” Haren said in a press release when the campaign was launched nearly two years ago. “Our proposal fixes a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, and benefiting everyone.”

Ohio legalized medical marijuana in 2016 through a bill passed by the state legislature, leading to the opening of the state’s first regulated cannabis dispensaries in 2019. In 2015, an earlier proposal to legalize adult-use cannabis was successfully added to the ballot, but the measure was defeated by more than 65% of the state’s voters.

LaRose first submitted the coalition’s proposal to legalize recreational marijuana in January 2022, but a dispute with lawmakers over the timing of the initiative led to legal action. Under an agreement between the campaign and legislators, the initiative was kept off the 2022 election ballot, requiring the campaign to wait until this year.

Public opinion is in favor of reform, with a Spectrum News/Siena College poll conducted last year showing that 60% of Ohio voters strongly or somewhat support marijuana legalization. If the proposal succeeds at the polls in November, Ohio will become the 24th state to legalize adult-use cannabis.

“We expect that our proposal is going to pass with a mandate from Ohio voters that we want to follow in the footsteps of the other half of the United States that have legalized and regulated marijuana since 2013,” Haren told WSOU Public Media.

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Activists in Ohio last week submitted nearly 30,000 additional signatures as part of an effort to get a marijuana legalization proposal before state lawmakers.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that the group known as the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol “turned in another 29,918 signatures to Secretary of State Frank LaRose” on Thursday “after falling short earlier this month.”

The coalition submitted a total of 206,943 signatures late last month as part of a petition campaign for the legalization proposal to be brought to the legislature. 

If the proposal were to be enacted, Ohioans ages 21 and older could legally buy and possess as many as 2.5 ounces of pot. The activists must obtain 132,887 signatures from Ohio voters spanning a minimum of 44 counties in order for the proposal to be considered by lawmakers. Then, lawmakers have a maximum of four months to act on the bill.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol suffered a setback earlier this month when LaRose’s office said that only 119,825 of the more than 200,000 signatures were valid—well under the threshold.

Now, with almost 30,000 additional signatures submitted, the coalition will hope that the legalization measure will finally make it to the state house in Columbus.

According to the Dispatch, if legislators “don’t pass the bill or pass an amended version” within the four-month time frame, “supporters can collect another 132,887 valid signatures to put the measure on the November ballot.”

In addition to permitting eligible adults to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis, the new proposal would also allow for up to “15 grams of concentrates,” along with “up to six plants individually and no more than 12 in a household with multiple adults,” according to the Dispatch.

The newspaper reported that, under the proposal, cannabis products “would be taxed at 10 percent, with revenue going toward administrative costs, addiction treatment programs, municipalities with dispensaries, and a social equity and jobs program.”

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol launched its campaign in earnest in July.

“We are proposing to regulate marijuana for adult use, just like we do for alcohol. Our proposal fixes a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, and benefiting everyone,” coalition Spokesman Tom Haren said in a press release at the time of the campaign launch.

“Ohioans want this,” he added. “They see marijuana legalization as inevitable. They want our leaders to seize the opportunity and take control of our future. Marijuana legalization is an issue whose time has come in Ohio. Nineteen states have gone before Ohio and we crafted legislation based on the best practices learned by those that went before us.”

But in the announcement, Haren noted that lawmakers did not have to wait for the petitions to be verified, saying the group is “ready to work with the General Assembly on meaningful reform right now, and it’s our sincere hope that we’ll collaborate on a sensible solution.”

While recreational cannabis isn’t yet legal in the Buckeye State, Ohio has had a medical cannabis program since 2016. Last month, state lawmakers passed a bill that would amount to some of the biggest changes to the program since it launched. 

Most notably, the bill would permit licensed physicians to “recommend marijuana for treatment for any condition if the physician, in the physician’s sole discretion and medical opinion, finds either of the following”: “that the patient’s symptoms may reasonably be expected to be relieved from medical marijuana” and “that the patient may otherwise reasonably be expected to benefit from medical marijuana.”

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