The Nebraska Medical Marijuana Initiative garnered thousands of signatures in hopes to have medical marijuana on the ballot in November. Governor Pete Ricketts and the Nebraska Supreme Court shut the idea down as soon as they could.

“There is no such thing as medical marijuana,” Ricketts said in a press conference.

He also stated that the measure is unconstitutional as it violated Nebraska’s “single subject ruling” which prevents activists from putting multiple issues into a single yes-or-no question for voters to address.

Marijuana has been used as medicine since 500 B.C according to History.com, for things such as epilepsy and numerous mental disorders.

Since the prevention of it being on the ballot, a legion of people are going without the medical care they need. Most medications cause terrible side effects that are harsh to deal with and often create problems bigger. Medical marijuana should be an option of treatment for patients with chronic illnesses.

Keeping medical marijuana illegal doesn’t benefit anyone. All it does is keep sick people, who could benefit from it, sick and in pain.

One of Ricketts’s concerns with medical marijuana is that people will misuse the drug and that it will lead to recreational use. The reality of this situation is Nebraskans who want to use marijuana for recreational purposes already know where to find it. They are already getting it and abusing it. Ricketts and the Nebraska Supreme Court are just preventing people who truly need it for medical purposes from receiving it.

He also believes that it’s addictive. While that is true, people are more likely to get addicted to other substances such as prescribed medicines. People become addicted to coffee and that’s completely legal.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, only 30 percent of those who use marijuana will have some degree of marijuana use disorder.

Another issue that people have with medical marijuana is the possibility of an overdose. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention a fatal overdose is highly unlikely. They also state that using too much marijuana will just intensify the normal effects of marijuana such as anxiety and paranoia.

The legalization of medical marijuana would help Nebraskans who struggle with incurable or chronic illnesses. It would create more jobs since people would be able to grow marijuana and then sell it for medical purposes. People who would self-medicate with marijuana would have their medication regulated, therefore making it safer for everyone involved.

Nebraskans who need it for medical purposes shouldn’t have to take the risk of jail time because politicians don’t agree. It can do more good for chronic illnesses than harm; it can change the way of medicine.