Pot Edible Felony Law In Wyoming House of Representatives

A bill that would clarify what amounts of edible and drinkable pot products are needed to charge someone with a felony under Wyoming law passed the Wyoming Senate this week and has been assigned to a to the House Judiciary Committee.

Senate File 23 passed the Senate on a 19-11 vote on Wednesday. Senators turned back an amendment by Senator Cale Case [R-Fremont County] to allow people charged with felony possession if the bill becomes law to offer a defense that the total amount of THC  in any pot edible or drinkable product is not more than 13 grams.

Under the amendment, that would be the presumed amount of THC in three ounces of pot in a plant form. Three ounces is the amount of weed in plant form needed to charge someone with felony possession under Wyoming law. Case's amendment was defeated by a 17-13 margin.

That means the version of the bill currently before the house would define a felony amount of a drinkable pot product as 36 fluid ounces. For concentrated marijuana resin, the felony amount would be three grams, and the felony amount for other edible pot products would be three ounces.

State lawmakers have been wrestling with the issue of edible and drinkable pot products for years, with judges throwing felony charges for those substances out of court because of the lack of clarity under current law of what amounts are needed for felony convictions.

Prosecutors and law enforcement officials have been calling for legislation that will allow felony convictions for pot edibles, and Senate File 23 is an attempt to meet those demands.