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Below is a complimentary excerpt from an institutional research note written by our Cannabis analysts Howard Penney and Daniel Biolsi. If you are an institutional investor interested in accessing our research email sales@hedgeye.com |
Earlier this week, activists for a medical marijuana legalization campaign in Nebraska announced that their campaign had collected enough valid signatures for the November ballot.
However, Secretary of State Bob Evnen has yet to formally certify the initiative. In a parallel to Arizona, a legal challenge has been filed to keep medical legalization off the ballot.
A law firm filed the legal challenge with the Secretary of State, alleging the language of the ballot initiative is unconstitutional since it violates Nebraska's single-subject rule.
The rule in question bars petitions from putting multiple issues in a single yes-or-no question, due to potential voter confusion and questions on what will be authorized post-election.
There is concern that this legal challenge may derail the ballot initiative – the Secretary of State removed three casino gambling initiatives based on the single-subject rule this week.
If the legal challenge fails and the Secretary of State certifies the initiative, Nebraska will be the sixth state to have a marijuana legalization measure on the ballot this November. The state has a population of 1.9M per 2019 census numbers.
