Jenny Kane – staff, ASSOCIATED PRESSFILE – Cannabis clones are displayed for customers at Home Grown Apothecary, April 19, 2024, in Portland, Ore. The Justice Department has formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in a historic shift to generations of drug policy in the United States. A proposed rule sent Thursday to the federal register recognizes the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A Nebraska judge threw out a lawsuit challenging the state’s medical marijuana initiatives.
The lawsuit argued that the initiatives — which were approved overwhelmingly by voters — are unconstitutional because they conflict with federal marijuana laws.
But the judge ruled that former State Sen. John Kuehn, head of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, did not have standing to bring the case.
SEE ALSO: Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission passes emergency regulations pending Pillen approval
In legal terms, standing is when someone can prove they would be harmed by an action. It is a requirement of filing a lawsuit.
Kuehn pointed to a Nebraska law that allows any resident of the state to sue to stop an initiative petition from being certified.
But Lancaster County District Court Judge Susan Strong said because these initiatives have already been certified and passed, that law does not apply.
SEE ALSO: Medical marijuana regulation bill dies in Nebraska Legislature
Kuehn also claimed to have standing as a taxpayer, saying public money should not be spent on something that is unconstitutional.
Strong’s ruling said that claim was “remarkably broad” because it counts every government action as an expenditure of taxpayer money.
“The Court does not believe that the incidental burdens of implementing a law, like employee time and printing costs, is an ‘expenditure of public funds’ sufficient to confer taxpayer standing under Nebraska law.”
SEE ALSO: ‘We know what we voted for’: Angry Nebraskans address lawmakers on medical marijuana
This is the second time Strong has tossed out a lawsuit from Kuehn.
He filed a lawsuit before the election alleging widespread fraud during the gathering and notarizing of the petitions.
Strong ruled that there was not enough fraud to invalidate the initiatives, but Kuehn is appealing the dismissal.
SEE ALSO: Election law complaint filed over challenge to Nebraska medical marijuana ballot initiatives
There were also two criminal cases surrounding the medical marijuana petitions.
In one, a petition circulator admitted to faking dozens of signatures.
In the other, a notary public is charged with 24 counts of official misconduct.
Prosecutors say he was not with circulators when he notarized their petition pages, a violation of Nebraska law.
SEE ALSO: Nebraska judge reinstates charges against notary in medical marijuana petition case
The judge ruled that former State Sen. John Kuehn, head of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, did not have standing to bring the case. Read More
