Wyoming legislators are set to once again consider rewriting laws dealing with marijuana extracts, concentrates and edibles, but experts—from law enforcement to advocates—say the bills still need work.
This year’s legislation aims to once again close a loophole in marijuana laws that has on at least two occasions induced judges to throw out drug cases involving the non-plant forms of the drug. Because Wyoming statute defines marijuana as a plant, other forms are not directly addressed by state law.
The Joint Judiciary Committee has sponsored two bills that aim to close that loophole. If either of the two bills receives an introductory vote of two-thirds in its respective chamber, the Legislature will consider the issue for the fourth straight year.
Neither bill is perfect, however, according to experts in the field.
At the heart of the issue is an inability to test for the concentration of THC—the active ingredient in marijuana—in edibles, making legislators, prosecutors and lab technicians unsure of exactly how potent a given THC-laced gummy bear is.
Top image: © David Gilder | Adobe Stock
