Two initiatives to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska failed to gather enough signatures to appear on the November ballot.
According to Omaha TV station WOWT, the secretary of state’s office said Monday that petitioners needed 86,776 signatures for each initiative, but:
- A marijuana regulation initiative received only 77,119 signatures.
- A patient protections initiative tallied only 77,843 signatures.
In addition, state law mandates that signatures must be gathered from at least 5% of registered voters from at least 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties.
The MMJ initiatives met the 5% requirement in only 27 counties, according to the secretary of state.
Meanwhile, Nebraska state Sen. Jen Day said she plans to introduce legislation to legalize medical marijuana in the upcoming legislative session, which beings Jan. 4, Lincoln TV station KOLN reported.
