A former Nebraska state senator, John Kuehn, has filed a lawsuit aiming to invalidate two petitions related to legalizing medical cannabis in the state, according to a report from the Nebraska Examiner. The petitions, which seek to legalize and regulate medical cannabis, were recently approved for the November ballot.
Kuehn, a veterinarian and former State Board of Health member who has long opposed cannabis legalization, argues that the proposals violate both federal law and the Nebraska state constitution. Represented by attorneys Steven E. Guenzel, Cameron E. Guenzel, and former state senator Andrew La Grone, Kuehn presents seven key arguments in his legal challenge.
These include:
- Delays from the Nebraska Secretary of State in making petition signatures publicly available for review.
- Allegedly insufficient valid signatures for ballot qualification.
- Failure to remove duplicate signatures by Secretary of State Bob Evnen.
- A violation of the state’s “single subject” rule requiring ballot measures to address only one issue.
- Concerns over the proposed Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission, which Kuehn claims unlawfully delegates power.
- Preemption of federal law, citing cannabis’ status as a Schedule I drug.
Kuehn’s lawsuit alleges that many petition signatures were invalid, citing unregistered voters, mismatched voter details, duplicate signatures, and improper collection methods. However, the lawsuit does not provide evidence for these claims, as the state has yet to release the signature pages for review. The campaign supporting the petitions submitted over 114,000 signatures for each measure by the July 3 deadline.
For the latest updates on the cannabis industry, be sure to subscribe to daily news alerts.
