As the Nebraska Senate prepares to hear a medical marijuana bill, Governor Pete Ricketts holds a press conference. He urges for lawmakers in the Senate to defeat the medical marijuana bill through fear mongering examples of death and disability.

Fear Mongering 

The Cambridge Dictionary defines fear mongering as, “the action of intentionally trying to make people afraid of something when this is not necessary or reasonable.” This is the case with Governor Ricketts speech. He opened up with tales of young people who died from marijuana consumption. 

This type of fear has been present in all sorts of politics throughout history, even most recently in the last Presidential election in 2020. There’s always fear that the other side is going to do something that will ruin the people of the country. Fear Mongering is more about attacking the opposite side of the debate rather than showing personal or other type of support for a certain bill or topic. 

That’s exactly what Governor Ricketts, along with the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, and a former football coach spoke about on Wednesday March 10th. “This is a dangerous drug that will impact our kids. If you legalize marijuana, you’re gonna kill your kids. That’s what the data shows around the country,” Governor Ricketts said. “Don’t legalize marijuana in the state of Nebraska.”

LB 474

The bill that Governor Ricketts is so against is the Medical Marijuana Act. Currently sponsored by 11 lawmakers, the bill moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Discussion and vote took place Wednesday afternoon around the same time as the Governor’s speech. The goal of LB 474 is to get medical care to those who need it the most, said Senator Adam Morfeld, one of the bill’s sponsors. 

The Medical Maijuana Act is currently 62 pages. In those pages there’s a breakdown of who can prescribe marijuana to a qualifying patient, how much they can have on them at one time, and what penalties would be for not following the rules set in place. Only a doctor or physician can prescribe medical marijuana to a patient they have a proper medical relationship with. Up to 2.5 ounces can be on an approved patient at one time. Additionally, if a patient doesn’t follow the regulations set in place, they may have their application for medical marijuana revoked and potentially face jail time.

A list of medical conditions is still being created. Right now the bill is mostly to establish a system that would work best for Nebraska citizens. 

Future

Previously, citizens collected around 190,000 signatures to try and put a medical marijuana initiative on the 2020 ballot. The minimum requirement was 120,000. Unfortunately the measure was rejected by the Nebraskan Supreme Court, stating that there were too many policy changes for one measure to handle according to the state’s Constitution. 

But activists haven’t given up yet. They are determined to get a marijuana reform measure on the 2022 ballot. Not just for medical marijuana but for adult-use marijuana as well. The citizens have spoken and want reform. It’s now just up to lawmakers to make it happen.

As more of this story develops, we will be sure to update you with the latest. Make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp news.