As of February 2020, 33 states and Washington, D.C., have passed laws either legalizing or decriminalizing medical marijuana. An additional 15 states have legalized the use of cannabis oil.

Nebraska remains the only state to not allow either medical marijuana or the use of any type of cannabis oil. Idaho has not legalized medical marijuana, but it has legalized the use of a specific brand of FDA-approved cannabis oil.

Currently, Jensen has collected around 1,650 signatures since beginning last Spring. He said he still needs to collect around 300 signatures to reach his goal of 2,000 signatures.

Jensen is facing a tight deadline to gather the remaining signatures. The filing deadline for signatures is July 2, meaning Jensen only has a couple of weeks to gather the necessary votes for the county.

“I’m going to go around and collect through the weekend of the 27th and 28th,” he said.

COVID-19 impacted his ability to gather signatures for the county, as well. Jensen said he was out for a couple of months during the pandemic.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana officially suspended volunteer and paid signature gathering efforts on March 19 due to the virus. Those efforts resumed on May 14 with added safety precautions, such as the use of personal protective equipment.