Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
A group of lawmakers tasked with crafting a bill to criminalize edible forms of marijuana declined to pursue legislation after the owner of a chemistry lab described the difficulties of testing the active ingredient of cannabis in food.
That means many Wyoming judges will continue to dismiss felony cases of marijuana edibles, interpreting existing state law as only applying to the plant form of the substance. Although a majority on the Joint Judiciary Committee voted to reject their draft bill Tuesday at a meeting in Casper, an individual legislator can sponsor a bill in Cheyenne in January.
Lawmakers previously tried to tackle the edibles issue when the Legislature met earlier this year, but they haven't been able to reach a proposal that is satisfactory to most members. The challenge with edibles is isolating the active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, from the other ingredients in the food.
The bill defeated in February would have made edibles weighing more than a pound a felony. But lawmakers amended the bill to increase and decrease the weight at different parts of the legislative process and the measure ultimately failed, said Sen. Leland Christensen, an Alta Republican who is a chairman of the Joint Judiciary Committee.
On Tuesday, the bill before the committee was a compromise from the bill killed in February: A person charged with possession of more than a pound would be charged with a misdemeanor, with penalties of 20 days in jail and a fine of up to $200. Penalties increased if the person was charged subsequent times with possession. By the third conviction, the punishment would be up to 5 years behind bars and a $5,000 fine.
Sarah Urfer, owner of ChemaTox Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, testified before the committee by telephone Monday afternoon.
"They make dry pretzels with THC in them, which don't weigh a lot," she said. "And then there are things like brownies, which have a lot of water and flour in them, which are heavier but may not have more THC."
Urfer's lab performs forensics tests for law enforcement. She said it's difficult at this time to isolate THC in an edible. Precise testing technology doesn't yet exist. She used the analogy of spilling sugar on carpet, and then trying to scoop it into a measuring cup. It will be impossible to scoop all the sugar granules into the cup, and so the measurement will not be accurate.
She said there aren't investors at this point willing to provide money to develop better THC-testing equipment. Someone would have to invest millions of dollars, and the researchers would have to legally obtain cannabis from the federal government, which means their market for the equipment would have to be law enforcement. Government is more limited and less lucrative than the cannabis industry so no investors have stepped forward, she said.
An increase in edibles in Wyoming is blamed on marijuana legalization in Colorado, where 10 milligrams of THC are considered a single dose. However, edibles vary in dosage.
"We had gummy bears being sold in Colorado with 300 milligrams of THC per gummy bear," she said.
Colorado has recently banned THC gummy bears, but other products have varying amounts of THC, she said.
Rep. Kendell Kroeker, R-Casper, tried to amend the bill to eliminate references to weight and replace them with servings. Anything over 50 servings would be penalized, according to his amendment.
Kroeker said he's not losing sleep over people facing less-than-severe penalties for edibles. But he would lose sleep if people's lives were ruined because they brought into Wyoming a couple cans of THC soda that weighed over a pound and were charged with a felony.
"Maybe it's a little gray area, maybe we set the bar too high," he said. "The person is still able to be thrown in (jail) and charged with a misdemeanor crime."
Lawmakers defeated his amendment, as they did another amendment, which would have made it easier to charge someone with edibles.
Rep. Nathan Winters, R-Thermopolis, wanted to amend the weight in the bill from over a pound to eight ounces.
Winters noted that THC is not diluted in edibles. Edibles are made using THC concentrates from cannabis.
"This is not a gateway drug anymore," he said. "It is actually a destination drug."
But with criticisms from opponents that 8 ounces was too severe for many products, which can be heavy but not contain more THC than lighter food, Winter's amendment was defeated.
In the end, a majority of the Judiciary Committee was uninterested in sponsoring a bill in January, including Rep. Charles Pelkey, D-Laramie.
"I'm frustrated with the process. We've been here for two years," he said, describing the amount of time the committee has been working on various edibles legislation.
The legislative session next year will be brief - six weeks. Lawmakers will have to make decisions on hundreds of bills and confront challenging budget issues, Pelkey said.
"The Judiciary Committee has spent two years talking about pot, and we haven't gotten anywhere," he said. "I say we decriminalize."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Law On Marijuana Edibles Remains Hazy As Legislators Decline To Sponsor Bill
Author: Laura Hancock
Contact: 307-266-0520
Photo Credit: Brennan Linsley
Website: Casper Star Tribune
That means many Wyoming judges will continue to dismiss felony cases of marijuana edibles, interpreting existing state law as only applying to the plant form of the substance. Although a majority on the Joint Judiciary Committee voted to reject their draft bill Tuesday at a meeting in Casper, an individual legislator can sponsor a bill in Cheyenne in January.
Lawmakers previously tried to tackle the edibles issue when the Legislature met earlier this year, but they haven't been able to reach a proposal that is satisfactory to most members. The challenge with edibles is isolating the active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, from the other ingredients in the food.
The bill defeated in February would have made edibles weighing more than a pound a felony. But lawmakers amended the bill to increase and decrease the weight at different parts of the legislative process and the measure ultimately failed, said Sen. Leland Christensen, an Alta Republican who is a chairman of the Joint Judiciary Committee.
On Tuesday, the bill before the committee was a compromise from the bill killed in February: A person charged with possession of more than a pound would be charged with a misdemeanor, with penalties of 20 days in jail and a fine of up to $200. Penalties increased if the person was charged subsequent times with possession. By the third conviction, the punishment would be up to 5 years behind bars and a $5,000 fine.
Sarah Urfer, owner of ChemaTox Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, testified before the committee by telephone Monday afternoon.
"They make dry pretzels with THC in them, which don't weigh a lot," she said. "And then there are things like brownies, which have a lot of water and flour in them, which are heavier but may not have more THC."
Urfer's lab performs forensics tests for law enforcement. She said it's difficult at this time to isolate THC in an edible. Precise testing technology doesn't yet exist. She used the analogy of spilling sugar on carpet, and then trying to scoop it into a measuring cup. It will be impossible to scoop all the sugar granules into the cup, and so the measurement will not be accurate.
She said there aren't investors at this point willing to provide money to develop better THC-testing equipment. Someone would have to invest millions of dollars, and the researchers would have to legally obtain cannabis from the federal government, which means their market for the equipment would have to be law enforcement. Government is more limited and less lucrative than the cannabis industry so no investors have stepped forward, she said.
An increase in edibles in Wyoming is blamed on marijuana legalization in Colorado, where 10 milligrams of THC are considered a single dose. However, edibles vary in dosage.
"We had gummy bears being sold in Colorado with 300 milligrams of THC per gummy bear," she said.
Colorado has recently banned THC gummy bears, but other products have varying amounts of THC, she said.
Rep. Kendell Kroeker, R-Casper, tried to amend the bill to eliminate references to weight and replace them with servings. Anything over 50 servings would be penalized, according to his amendment.
Kroeker said he's not losing sleep over people facing less-than-severe penalties for edibles. But he would lose sleep if people's lives were ruined because they brought into Wyoming a couple cans of THC soda that weighed over a pound and were charged with a felony.
"Maybe it's a little gray area, maybe we set the bar too high," he said. "The person is still able to be thrown in (jail) and charged with a misdemeanor crime."
Lawmakers defeated his amendment, as they did another amendment, which would have made it easier to charge someone with edibles.
Rep. Nathan Winters, R-Thermopolis, wanted to amend the weight in the bill from over a pound to eight ounces.
Winters noted that THC is not diluted in edibles. Edibles are made using THC concentrates from cannabis.
"This is not a gateway drug anymore," he said. "It is actually a destination drug."
But with criticisms from opponents that 8 ounces was too severe for many products, which can be heavy but not contain more THC than lighter food, Winter's amendment was defeated.
In the end, a majority of the Judiciary Committee was uninterested in sponsoring a bill in January, including Rep. Charles Pelkey, D-Laramie.
"I'm frustrated with the process. We've been here for two years," he said, describing the amount of time the committee has been working on various edibles legislation.
The legislative session next year will be brief - six weeks. Lawmakers will have to make decisions on hundreds of bills and confront challenging budget issues, Pelkey said.
"The Judiciary Committee has spent two years talking about pot, and we haven't gotten anywhere," he said. "I say we decriminalize."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Law On Marijuana Edibles Remains Hazy As Legislators Decline To Sponsor Bill
Author: Laura Hancock
Contact: 307-266-0520
Photo Credit: Brennan Linsley
Website: Casper Star Tribune
