Wyoming lawmakers are introducing legislation to decriminalize cannabis

House Bill 0106 was introduced to the Wyoming legislature to potentially decriminalize small amounts of cannabis and reduce fines for possession, if passed.

HB-0106 was filed Feb. 15 by Rep. Mark Baker, in addition to 11 co-sponsors that include House Speaker Eric Barlow and House Majority Whip Jared Olsen.

Under the current text of the law, if passed, cannabis in solid forms such as edibles, ointments and tinctures would see new possession restrictions. Liquid cannabis products would be capped at 72 ounces and concentrated cannabis would be capped at 30 grams. The bill would also “create a civil penalty for possession of certain amounts of marijuana and the elimination of criminal penalties for possession of certain amounts of marijuana, the elimination of use of marijuana and possession of marijuana paraphernalia as felonies; Eliminate the ban on practitioners prescribing marijuana; change definitions; make compliant changes; repeal of a provision; and providing an effective date,” the bill reads.

Two legalization laws failed in the 2021 legislative period. One was passed by the Judiciary Committee, chaired by Olsen in the role of Chair. “With my opening remarks, I want to ask the committee this question, which is simply: Is Wyoming ready to legalize marijuana?” Olsen said. “That’s the question before this committee, that’s the topic this Legislature hasn’t heard in over four years, so I think this is an important moment in Wyoming where we’re now discussing a topic that we’ve all avoided have many years.” Unfortunately, the bill stalled in March 2021.

Aside from legislative efforts to decriminalize cannabis in Wyoming, supporter signatures are currently being collected for two ballot initiatives to legalize it; one aimed to decriminalize cannabis and another sought to legalize medicinal cannabis. Both initiatives are managed by NORML Wyoming and the national Libertarian Party, which has been actively collecting signatures and hosting a Wyoming NORML Lobby Day 2022 on February 24th. The organization did not gather enough signatures to qualify for the 2022 election deadline, but has since set its sights on 2024 as a new target.

In response to a comment on Facebook regarding the 2024 delay, NORML Wyoming shared encouraging information about the effort. “We don’t have the necessary signatures yet. We should wrap the collections by the end of summer,” the organization wrote. “We already have more than last time after a full 18 months! We are introducing both initiatives as bills during the intervening legislative sessions, so we may see even faster action.” NORML Wyoming’s approach to decriminalization would result in the first and second offenders paying a $50 fee, and other offenses would result in a $75 fine. The initiative to legalize medicinal cannabis, currently dubbed the Wyoming Medical Marijuana Initiative (2024), would allow patients suffering from a variety of conditions, such as “multiple sclerosis, ALS, AIDS, cancer, seizures, Alzheimer’s/dementia, PTSD, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Pain, Nausea/Fatigue, Muscle Spasticity, Depression, Anxiety, Insomnia & More” to grow their own cannabis at home.

The National Libertarian Party’s chief strategist, Apollo Pazell, confirmed that the ideal would be for lawmakers to take responsibility for drafting reliable cannabis laws. “We would prefer a legislative process,” he told the Casper Star Tribune. However, he also pointed to the challenge of opposition fundamentalist lawmakers. “The fundamentalist candidates have consistently taken a stand against cannabis,” Pazell said. “[There are] There are many more fundamentalist legislators now than there used to be.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, just over half of the states in the US have decriminalized small amounts of cannabis. Wyoming residents support cannabis. In a 2020 poll conducted by the University of Wyoming, an estimated 54 percent of Wyoming residents support the legal possession of marijuana for personal use by adults. This continues the steady increase in support seen in 2014, 2016 and 2018, when support rose from 37 percent to 41 percent and 49 percent, respectively.”