Marijuana advocates in Nebraska are not wasting any time launching campaigns aimed at legalizing the leaf in 2018.
That’s right, while states all across the nation are preparing to put ballot measures in front of voters later this fall, two separate groups of cannabis reformers in the Cornhusker State are already collecting signatures in hopes of getting their respective issue on the ballot in two years.
One group reportedly hopes to pass an initiative that would eliminate the criminal penalties associated with minor pot possession, while another is gearing up for a full-blown assault against the scourge prohibition.
Although Nebraska already has a conservative decriminalization law in place, one that gives law enforcement officers the freedom to issue a ticket to anyone caught holding up to an ounce of weed, the latest decriminalization initiative, which was drafted by Legal Marijuana Now (LMN), hopes to bring about looser penalties for offenders and a reduction in the fines – currently $300 for a first offense.
"We're trying to protect people," Mark Elworth Jr. with LMN told the Lincoln Journal Star. "Those minor in possession tickets … they can ruin people's lives."
While very few people caught with small amounts of marijuana are being sent to jail these days, many of them are still left to endure the aftermath of this transgression.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, “even for individuals who are never incarcerated, collateral consequences that flow from arrests and convictions — such as lost jobs, ineligibility for public housing, suspended driver’s licenses, and restrictions on access to federal student loans — can significantly derail lives.”
For now, Legal Marijuana Now must focus on collecting the 100,000 signatures needed to earn a spot on the ballot in 2018. Organizers say they hope to have 15,000 before the end of this year.
