Ballot Outcomes: Cannabis Only Wins in Nebraska
Cannabis flopped at the 2024 elections. Four U.S. states had marijuana on the ballot on November 5. But only one state—Nebraska—successfully voted to pass ballot initiatives. The other three states, Florida, South Dakota and North Dakota, rejected proposals to move forward with the herb medicine.
November 5 could have been a big day for cannabis advocates. Elections after all are not only about choosing a President and who gets to sit in the House and Senate. It’s also about various other matters of legality, cannabis included. While voting in previous years has proven to be crucial for establishing state-level legislation on cannabis, the same cannot be said about this year’s round. Only one state secured enough support from voters to advance the legal status of cannabis.
Two Cannabis Measures Pass on the Ballot in Nebraska
The only advance in marijuana legalization in the recent elections happened in Nebraska. Although, even those results are under question. They need to be validated by Nebraska’s Supreme Court.
Voters in the Cornhusker State have for now approved two proposals; one that finally legalizes medical cannabis, and the other to regulate the industry. The support for cannabis was significant. Almost 71% voted in favor of Nebraska Initiative 437, which gives the OK for owning up to five ounces of marijuana for medical purposes among qualified patients. And almost 67% voted in favor of Nebraska Initiative 438, which seeks the establishment of a regulatory commission for the state cannabis industry. Even though these measures were passed with a sufficient majority, they might still be legally challenged in the coming weeks.
To get cannabis on the ballot, Nebraska cannabis advocates had to gather more than 230,000 signatures. However, there’s an ongoing investigation that “casts serious doubt regarding the ultimate validity of approximately 49,000 signatures” on both medical cannabis petitions, Nebraska Examiner reported.
The election results could be nulled if the final court ruling discredits at least 3,500 signatures. We should know about the outcome by Dec. 2, when Nebraska’s election results are due to be certified.
South Dakota, North Dakota and Florida Reject Cannabis
Legalization initiatives in three other states failed. In South Dakota, recreational marijuana was turned down by voters for the third time now. Initiated Measure 29 was supported with only 44.46% of the vote.
Ironically, South Dakota voters actually approved marijuana legalization on the ballot in 2020, but the legality of that measure was challenged and the state Supreme Court ruled against it in the end.
North Dakota voters were as well asked for the third time about regulating adult-use marijuana. Initiated Measure 5 secured only 47.46% of the vote, which was again not enough.
Legalization of cannabis failed also in Florida, where the measure was endorsed by Donald Trump himself, but heavily opposed by Gov. DeSantis.
Overall, it has not quite been the election year for legal cannabis. In 2020, three states—New Jersey, Arizona, and Montana—managed to pass a bill on recreational cannabis and subsequently launch legal markets. In 2016, it was California, Nevada and Massachusetts voting to legalize recreational cannabis.
Perhaps state-level legalization in the U.S. is past its peak moment. Or advocates and sponsors need to retake their proposals once again and see how to better address obstacles in future campaigns. Currently in the spotlight remains the ongoing federal effort to reschedule cannabis, which might bring major legal and economic implications for the entire sector.
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Stephen Andrews
