Connect with us

News

Nebraska Senator Introduces Medical Cannabis Bill

Published

on

The Nebraska Senate recently introduced a new bill that would legalize medical cannabis in the state.

Introduced by Senator Anna Wishart on January 15, the bill (LB474) would pick up where a previous November 2020 ballot initiative failed. Wishart herself worked on an attempt to collect signatures for ballot consideration. They collected 190,000 signatures and only needed 120,00 but the initiative was still rejected by the Supreme Court for a technicality. The court claimed it violates single-subject rules.

“The ballot initiative was not about medical marijuana, because it was not going to be prescribed by a doctor. It was not going to be distributed through a pharmacy,” said Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts when the bill failed. “It wasn’t a real medical thing.”

Wishart hopes that her newest bill will help residents gain access to cannabis. “[Friday] I introduced another bill, LB474, to legalize medical cannabis,” said Wishart. “I do this to honor the Nebraskans I have met along this long and winding journey. They deserve representatives who will show up and go the distance for positive change that improves the lives of families in our state no matter how many challenges are met along the way.”

Parents such as Crista Eggers are frustrated that the ballot measure was not considered back in November, as she was hoping for medicine to treat Colton, her six-year-old son. Colton has intractable epilepsy and so far hasn’t found any medicine that helps treat his condition. Under the current law, he can’t try cannabis-based medicine. “So many people were counting on that, people that didn’t have time to wait,” Eggers said.

She also expresses that, as excited as she is, she is also wary of getting too excited. “It’s exciting and we’re hopeful,” she continued. “I think more hopeful than we’ve ever been, but it also comes with that feeling of, ‘Why are we here again?’ We should be doing, as a state, everything we can to help those who are in need. This fight isn’t just for Colton. Our first has become for all those individuals who so desperately need an option.”

“On the journey to legalize medical cannabis in Nebraska, I have met so many brave people that inspire me,” said Wishart about her strong desire to legalize. “Veterans who have lost limbs in war serving our country, cancer survivors who have beaten all odds, people with debilitating pain who refuse to give up, and kids like Colton who suffer from seizures at such a young age and still show up to their life with a smile. All of these Nebraskans deserve the right to access a plant-based medicine that has evolved with humans for over 10,000+ years. None of them should be treated like criminals in our state.”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *