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Nebraska lawmakers hear new pitch for medical marijuana

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker who is a leading supporter of medical marijuana says the issue will likely appear on the 2022 ballot if her fellow lawmakers don’t pass a legalization measure this year.

Sen. Anna Wishart, of Lincoln, says advocates will propose a one-sentence ballot measure through a citizen-led petition drive if the bill in the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee doesn’t become law.

The Nebraska Supreme Court stripped a legalization measure off the ballot last year after concluding that its wording violated the state constitution’s single-subject rule, which bars activists from bunching multiple issues into a single yes-or-no question.

The new ballot proposal seeks to avoid that problem so it can survive a legal challenge, but it would make the legalization measure much broader.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts was among those who spoke out against the bill on Wednesday.

3 News Now reporter Jon Kipper is following this story and will have more in our evening newscasts.

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