Lawsuit seeks to invalidate Nebraska’s medical marijuana ban
LINCOLN — A former state senator and former state health board member filed a legal challenge Thursday seeking to invalidate two Nebraska ballot petitions related to medical marijuana.
John Kuehn of Heartwell, a veterinarian and rancher who has opposed any form of marijuana legalization, believes both measures should not be on the Nov. 5 ballot. Kuhn, through attorneys Steven E. Guenzel and Cameron E. Guenzel and former state Sen. Andrew La Grone, cited seven reasons ranging from procedural violations to violations of the state constitution and federal law.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday afternoon in Lancaster County District Court.
Kuehn served in the Legislature from 2015 to 2019 and has been “The smart approach to cannabis,” or SAM, a national organization dedicated to preventing “another Big Tobacco.” La Grone served in the Legislature for two years from 2019 to 2021 and is with current state Sen. Julie ·Julie Slama gets married.
Both Coon and LaGrone were close allies of the then-governor. Pete Ricketts served in the Legislature. Ricketts appointed Coon to the state Board of Health and LaGron to the Legislature.
Seven alleged complaints
Through the lawsuit, Kuhn is seeking to prevent Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen from certifying two petitions for the Nov. 5 ballot. If the measures are placed on the ballot, Coon, if successful, would seek to prevent the state from certifying the election results for those measures.
Secretary of State Bob Evnen speaks as a member of the state lobbying committee about the May 2024 primary election on June 10, 2024.
Under state law, Evnen has until Friday to certify the ballots because early voting ballots must be sent to overseas voters It will take place as early as next Friday (September 20).
Judge Susan Strong has been assigned to the case.
The two petitions would separately legalize and regulate medical marijuana, extending legal protections to and defining who is a patient, caregiver or related medical provider. The petition is supported by the Nebraska Medical Marijuana Organization, led by statewide campaign manager Crista Eggers, Lincoln State Senator Anna Wishart and former Lincoln State Senator Adam Morfeld.
Evnen and the trio who led the campaign are named in the lawsuit.
A spokesman for the secretary of state’s office said Evan had no immediate comment and that more information on the marijuana petition will be released on Friday.
The event said in an official statement: “Minister Evnen announced that both NMM initiatives collected enough valid signatures for certification. We believe that NMM met all legal requirements and collected the required signatures to be eligible to participate in the 11 month’s vote.
Kuhn claimed that the petition should be invalidated on the following grounds:
The Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office delayed providing signed copies for public review upon request. The lawsuit says Secretary of State Bob Even has a duty to ensure that “any diligent challenger has a meaningful opportunity to exercise his or her right to seek review and appeal” before certifying the ballots. There are not enough valid signatures for ballot access. Evnen failed to sign a duplicate signature. Lincoln state Sen. Anna Wishart’s sponsor statement is invalid. Both petitions violate the state constitution’s “single subject” rule, which states that all measures must cover only one subject. Unlawfully authorizing the proposed Nebraska Medical Marijuana Commission, which would oversee the regulation of medical marijuana. Preempts federal law banning marijuana as a Schedule I drug.
“Plaintiffs are entitled to expedited injunctive relief,” the lawsuit states.
“Defects may be discovered”
Kuhn argued that many of the signatures were invalid and “illegally accepted by the secretary,” based on pages of the petition he reviewed and evidence that will be presented to the court. Under state law, counties share the responsibility for verifying signatures and must complete verification within 40 days of receiving a signature from Evnen’s Lincoln office.
Evnen announced on Aug. 30 that the signature verification process was ongoing, but that two medical marijuana petitions had collected enough signatures to move to the ballot. He has not yet approved the ballot measure, which must go before voters on Nov. 5.
Kuhn requested signatures on September 3 through LaGronne.
The lawsuit cites the following forms of invalidity:
Signatures from people who are not registered voters, whose birthdates do not match their voter registration, or who do not include an address when signing. Repeat signature. Signatures collected before distribution of last year’s petition officially began or after the July 3 deadline. Other fraudulent signature collection methods, including false notarizations.
The lawsuit does not specify evidence of any type of invalid signature by a single signer, nor does it specify how many signatures may have been discarded. However, the lawsuit says Kuhn had “good reason to believe” there would not be enough signatures following that process.
“Plaintiffs are unable to provide the total number of signatures that are invalid for the reasons stated above because the signature pages of the petition have not yet been provided,” the lawsuit states. “As the signature pages of the petition continue to be produced, Plaintiffs anticipate that invalidities may be discovered.”
Attorney General Mike Hilgers announced Thursday that he would hold a press conference on Friday morning to announce “voter signature fraud discovered during the petition process.” It was unclear which of several petitions he planned to discuss.
The attorney general’s office had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.
The Nebraska Constitution requires advocates to take proactive steps to seek new state laws to collect At least 7% of registered voters sign. Of those, 5 percent of registered voters must be allocated to at least 38 of the state’s 93 counties.
The campaign submitted more than 114,000 signatures to its two petitions on July 3.
“Unofficial interim results” cited in the lawsuit show that as of September 5, there were 89,841 valid signatures and 52 verified counties.
Kuhn filed a public records request with Hilgers. Hilgers is a former lawmaker who also opposes medical marijuana and led a statewide campaign against delta-8, which contains THC, the compound in the marijuana plant most commonly associated with getting people high.
Medical Marijuana State History
The 2024 election cycle marks the third time Nebraska medical marijuana groups have tried to qualify for the ballot, starting around the time legislative efforts stalled in 2019.
That year, LaGronne asked Opinion of the Attorney General exist Wishart legislationthe bill said her legislation could be “preempted” or rendered moot by federal laws banning any form of marijuana. The lawsuit cites that view and U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
Lincoln State Senator Anna Wishart during the launch of the Nebraska Medical Marijuana 2024 petition drive at Duffy’s Tavern on Wednesday, September 13, 2023 in Lincoln, Nebraska Give a speech to a group of people. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
In May, the federal government Officially begins what could be The long process of reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I drugsThe same level as heroin or LSD, the same level as Schedule III drugs, the same level as Tylenol with codeine or ketamine.
As of February, 38 states Marijuana is allowed for medical use, and 24 states have also legalized recreational marijuana use, according to the Pew Research Center. Washington, D.C., has also decriminalized both.
In 2020, the campaign submitted enough signatures, but the issue did not make it onto the ballot after a similar challenge from Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner, who argued that the efforts constituted multiple ” single theme”. The Nebraska Supreme Court agreed 5-2.
2021, separate state-level legislation 31-18 deadlockedstill two votes short of passing. The campaign tried again before the 2022 election but did not get enough valid signatures.
In September 2023, the group returned with two separate petitions in what it said was a last-ditch attempt to succeed at the ballot box.
“Single Subject” Constitutional Rule
The suit argued that the separate petitions also violated the “single subject” rule.
On the decriminalization petition, the lawsuit says it includes whether to decriminalize the drug and how to protect authorized individuals. As for the regulatory petition, it argued it was insufficient because it would have legalized the drug, created a new Nebraska Medical Marijuana Commission and centered around whether to “take away the Legislature’s power to legislate” on marijuana.
Nebraska Supreme Court justices (and when they were appointed), front row, from left: Lindsey Miller-Lerman (1998), Chief Justice Michael Heviken Heavican, 2006), William Cassel (2012). Back row, from left: Jonathan Papik (2018), Stephanie Stacy (2015), Jeffrey Funke (2016) and John Freudenberg (2018). (provided by the court)
The Nebraska Supreme Court has taken a stricter view of the “single subject” requirement when it comes to ballot measures than legislatively enacted laws.
Two other ballot measures, both related to abortion, also face single-topic challenges. The Supreme Court considered the arguments on Monday and is expected to issue a decision on Friday morning.
Kuhn’s lawsuit also challenges the constitutionality of the medical marijuana measure because Wishart included her home address but did not specify her city, state or zip code when she signed the petition’s affidavit last year. State law requires a “street address.”
Kuhn’s lawsuit claims that this omission makes the two initiatives legally inadequate because the law is “mandatory and directive,” and says they should not be placed on the ballot.
‘I know what killed my child’
Opponents of medical marijuana, including Gov. Jim Pillen, often argue that its use should be allowed only with approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Pillen said legalizing marijuana “is causing clear harm to our children.”
Rickettsia 2021 National headlines If voters legalize marijuana, he said, “you’re going to kill your children.”
Krista Eggers (center) signs an affidavit pledging that the Nebraska Medical Marijuana Campaign has collected enough signatures for Nebraska’s fall election. Eggers with her husband, Easton, and sons, from left, Carsten, 11, and Colton, 9. July 3, 2024.
Eggers helped organize the petition for her son, who suffers from epilepsy and severe seizures. In September 2023, as she launched the 2024 campaign, she said she “couldn’t ignore” Ricketts or Pillen’s comments because she knew what was hurting her son, who she described as a lover of flag football and Legos. “Typical child”.
“I know what killed my baby, and that was the horrific seizures I had been having every day for the past five or six years,” Eggers said at the time.
The campaign had no immediate comment on Kuhn’s lawsuit.
Kuehn is also represented by attorneys Steven E. Guenzel and Cameron E. Guenzel, as well as Austin-based Vantage Legal attorney Anne Marie Mackin. McGinn is a former Assistant Attorney General of Texas who served as legal counsel to the Texas Senate and the Federal Election Commission.
The attorney general’s office had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.
Kuhn Evnen Eggers Morfield Wishart
Other 2024 Ballot Measures
In addition to the medical marijuana ballot measure, four other measures passed on the general election ballot:
All but the paid sick leave are facing legal challenges this week in the Nebraska Supreme Court. A decision is expected Friday morning.
