Wyoming enacts meaningless legislation; wastes taxpayer time and money

The Wyoming Legislature has adjourned, but not before taking up one marijuana-related piece of legislation. HB 69, passed by both legislative chambers and signed by Governor Mead, amounts to nothing more than mean-spirited and pointless legislation. The new law states that, with the exception of dronabinol, any prescription or order from a physician for marijuana, THC, or synthetic THC is invalid.

Debate and passage of this law was a waste of legislative time and taxpayer dollars. No physician, even those in states with medical marijuana laws, may prescribe marijuana because it is a Schedule I substance. Furthermore, Wyoming’s law does not protect patients using medical marijuana, so a physician's order to use would be irrelevant and no defense to a marijuana charge. This new law amounts to nothing more than a strong hostility to medical marijuana, which 81% of the American public supports allowing.

Next session, instead of wasting legislative time on bills that will affect no change, encourage your legislators to champion for compassion and common sense by submitting a medical marijuana bill. Wyoming’s legislators should take a page from Colorado and work with, as opposed to jailing, their residents whose physicians think marijuana is the best treatment option for their ailments.

As we try to protect seriously ill patients from arrest, it is very important that Wyoming legislators hear from community opinion leaders on the issue. If you are a patient, a medical professional, a law enforcement official, or a clergy member, please email state@mpp.org to see how you can be of special help.

Wyoming's marijuana laws

Under current Wyoming law, a person who is arrested for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana faces up to a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine! To learn more about all of Wyoming's marijuana laws, please see Dr. Jon Gettman, Ph.D.'s Wyoming-specific report. Please ask your legislators to get Wyoming’s priorities straight. You can send a letter to your legislators asking them to reduce the penalty for possession of marijuana to a civil fine or ask them to end marijuana prohibition entirely.

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