Editorial, 5/25: Legislature shows hubris in rejecting medical marijuana bill

Last Tuesday, 22 Republican senators voted against ending debate on a bill that would have directed the Nebraska Cannabis Commission, the regulatory board established by the initiative, to write rules and regulations for medical reasons, effectively killing the measure.

The hubris of the so-called conservative legislators’ refusal to implement the will of the overwhelming majority of voters across state is staggering, for both the senators’ failure to do their jobs — to represent and reflect the views of their constituents — and in the arguments against and efforts to make obtaining medical marijuana as difficult as possible.

The refusal to implement medical marijuana goes hand-in-glove with efforts by Gov. Jim Pillen and Attorney General Mike Hilgers to scuttle the initiatives.

Pillen has appointed two members of the Cannabis Commission that Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, the sponsor of the filibustered bill, calls “anti-marijuana,” ensuring that any procedure approved by a future Legislature would be implemented at its most restrictive level.

And Hilgers continues to fight the initiatives on the legal front, urging the Legislature not to pass LB677 to allow challenges to work their way through the courts.

Again, it’s difficult to see how Hilgers’ fight against the initiatives represents the views of the majority of Nebraskans. Instead, it appears to be a part of his personal anti-marijuana crusade.

Implementation of medical marijuana is certain to be revived next year. Given the makeup of the Legislature will not have changed next January, the odds are very high that the same outdated, unverified arguments against medical marijuana will return as well, leading to another filibustered stalemate.

Last week’s refusal to allow the implementation was a heartless, crushing blow to those who worked for years to legalize medical marijuana that could be used in the treatment of their loved ones. They, and their legislative supporters, will of course push for the passage of a bill that reflects the intent of the voters in passing the initiatives.

But perhaps the only way for Nebraskans to see medical marijuana implemented will have to come at the ballot box next year — by voting out the senators who killed the bill and the officials who have worked against it and electing those who will implement the will of the people.