Since the party can’t have ballot access this year, his focus in turning in the signatures now is to keep young people from leaving the state, he said. He sees all over social media, he said, that they are disgusted with Nebraska politics and are talking about leaving the state because of those politics.

“We need to stop that. We need to put up a fight. We can’t let our people go,” he said. “We want to give people hope. They think that this is hopeless.”

The Nebraska Legislature has continually turned down legalization of medical marijuana. A recent petition initiative to legalize it received enough signatures to get on the 2020 ballot, and it was certified by Secretary of State Bob Evnen. But it was challenged and the Supreme Court ruled against Evnen’s certification. So it will not get a vote of the people this year.

When asked if the Legal Marijuana Now party is about just one issue, Elworth said: “We’re marijuana smokers. You can imagine what we’re about. We’re really about the lifestyle. Not just marijuana. We’re a whole culture that is not represented, really, by anybody.”