The initiative would give the people of Nebraska the right, if recommended by a doctor or nurse practitioner, to use, possess and access cannabis, products and equipment to alleviate serious medical conditions. People would also have the right to safely and discreetly produce an adequate supply of cannabis.

“We have evidence showing that it helps,” Wishart said, “so to deny people access to that to me is tragic. And that’s why we are pushing for this initiative on two fronts.”

Morfeld and Wishart said their preference would be to pass a bill (LB110) in the Legislature legalizing medical cannabis, which Wishart introduced again this session.

The proposed ballot initiative and the bill have set up a pitched battle between medical marijuana supporters and the likes of Gov. Pete Ricketts, Attorney General Doug Peterson and former Husker football coach Tom Osborne, who appeared at a news conference recently to denounce the drug and attempts to legalize it. [Read more at Lincoln Journal Star]