Cannabis Decriminalization Is On The Table In The Wyoming Legislature With Backing Of House Speaker

A bill that would decriminalize small amounts of marijuana has been filed for the 2022 session of the Wyoming Legislature and has the backing of the House speaker as well as other leaders.

Because it’s a budget session, the policy change would require a two-thirds majority vote of the legislature to pass.

What's In The Bill

The bill would remove criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of cannabis, replacing the state’s current misdemeanor charge with a $100 fine, reported local radio KGAB.

That compares with a potential penalty of up to a year in jail and/or a fine of $1000 under current state law for possession of misdemeanor amounts of cannabis, under three ounces. In 2021, a bill that would have legalized cannabis passed a House Judiciary Committee vote though it was effectively killed by legislative leaders by not bringing it to a vote of the full house in time to meet a legislative deadline.

The current House Bill 106 is a more modest proposal than the 2021 legalization bill in that it does not call for full-scale legalization nor does it set up a regulatory system for allowing commercial cannabis stores to open in Wyoming, as that legislation would have done.

HB 106 was sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats as well as the only Libertarian member of the legislature.

What's Next?

Legalization advocates are preparing two ballot proposals for 2024 that would decriminalize cannabis possession and legalize medical marijuana. According to a December 2020 survey from the University of Wyoming, around half of the state’s residents support legalizing marijuana and 85% are in favor of medical use.

As it stands, with 18 states having legalized recreational marijuana, Wyoming is surrounded by neighboring Montana and Colorado. South Dakota voters have also voted in favor of legal weed, but pot opponents in that state were able to overturn that vote in the South Dakota Supreme Court on a legal technicality.

Photo by Pascal Bernardon on Unsplash