by Robert S. Teachout, Legal Editor at Brightmine
Nebraska employers may need to revise workplace drug policies following voter approval of a ballot initiative decriminalizing the use of medical marijuana. However, the ballot measure is currently facing a court challenge.
Nebraska Initiative 437, Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative will enact a statute that makes penalties inapplicable under state and local law for the use, possession and acquisition of up to five ounces of cannabis for medical purposes by a qualified patient with a written recommendation from a health care practitioner. It was approved 71% – 29%, according to uncertified election returns.
The validity of the ballot measure is being challenged in court right now, and a ruling is not expected to rule until later this month at the earliest, so it’s unclear if the decriminalization of medical marijuana will become law. Opponents claim that at least 80,000 signatures on the initiative petitions are invalid.
Voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota also weighed in on marijuana initiatives that would have legalized recreational marijuana. None passed.
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About the author
Robert S. Teachout, SHRM – SCP
Legal Editor, Brightmine
Robert Teachout has more than 30 years’ experience in legal publishing covering employment laws on the state and federal level. At Brightmine, he covers labor relations, performance appraisals and promotions, succession and workforce planning, HR professional development and employment contracts. He often writes on the intersection of compliance with HR strategy and practice.
Before joining Brightmine, Robert was a senior HR editor at Thompson Information Services, covering FMLA, ADA, EEO issues and federal and state leave laws. Prior to that he was the primary editor of Bloomberg BNA’s State Labor Laws binders and was the principal writer and editor of the State Wage Assignment and Garnishment Handbook. Robert also served as a union unit leader and shop steward in the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild of the Communications Workers of America. Actively involved in the HR profession, Robert is a member of SHRM at both the national and local levels, and gives back to the profession by serving as the communications vice president on the board of his local chapter.
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