Wyoming has traditionally kept THC and cannabis as a Schedule I drug as defined by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The last time Wyoming lawmakers saw anything to do with cannabis was five years ago when a potential legalization bill failed. Since then, lawmakers seemed unwilling to discuss marijuana in any capacity. Now, more than half a decade later, the state’s House of Representatives is addressing Wyoming marijuana legalization head on. 

HB 209

First introduced at the beginning of March, HB 209 seeks to regulate marijuana sales, consumption, and possession across the state. Surprisingly, most of the bill sponsors are GOP party members, who have traditionally been against marijuana reform in recent years. One example of a staunch oppositionist is South Dakota’s GOP Governor Kristi Noem. She has been fighting against voter approved measures to legalize both medical and recreational marijuana usage. 

HB 209’s first stop was in the House Judiciary Committee. There, it heard several testimonies from scientists and consumers alike in favor of legalization. One public supporter is former US Senator and Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, who now lives in Wyoming. The bill, “Will create a lucrative revenue stream,” Chafee said. “We all want to see these revenues go to necessary government services and to keep taxes down.”

Another testimony came from a former Wyoming Lawmaker who was diagnosed with MS. He retired early because even pain management medications weren’t able to help him function without pain. With marijuana having very few side effects, it should be legalized within the state, and across the country this former lawmaker said. The government shouldn’t, “Be regulating in any way on a plant.” Plus, in a poll conducted just last year, 54 percent of Wyoming citizens support legalization of marijuana. 

Lawmaker Response

While there are a small number of lawmakers against this new measure, most embrace it. Similar to North Dakota’s governor pushing for legislation to better control the substance, GOP lawmakers in Wyoming are stating the same.

“I bring [this bill] because I believe that those realities are real—that an initiative reality is real for Wyoming and that the descheduling of the drug in Washington, D.C. is a very likely reality for Wyoming and that when there’s only six states that choose to do nothing, imagine where Wyoming is going to be when one of those two things happens,” Representative Jared Olsen (R) said. He currently sponsors HB 209. “So I bring a solution in an attempt to put our arms around it and decide what we want it to look like.”

“Instead, the public by ballot initiative, which may be a lot more simplistic, decides what that will look like,” Representative Olson continued. “And then you will return to decide how do we adjust that? How do we fix that? How do we wrap our arms around it? How…do we regulate it?”

Wyoming’s neighbor states of Montana and South Dakota both passed marijuana legalization measures proposed by activists and approved by voters. While South Dakota’s recreational marijuana amendment moves to contestment in the state’s Supreme Court, Montana is getting ready to implement the voter approved changes. “I would pose this question to the committee, which is simply: is Wyoming ready to legalize marijuana?” 

The answer may be yes.

Future

HB 209 now moves to a full chamber discussion and vote before moving onto the Senate if approved. The bill has a long way to go in a short amount of time, but lawmakers feel positive that this bill will be adopted. 

As more information becomes available about HB 209, we will be sure to update you with the latest. In the meantime, make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp related news.