Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz (R) has ruled that marijuana will stay listed as a Schedule I substance under the state's Controlled Substances Act, blocking an automatic reclassification that state law would otherwise require following the Trump administration's federal rescheduling action.
"The Wyoming Legislature has not legalized medical marijuana, has not approved a state licensed medical marijuana regulatory scheme, or approved of recognizing any other state's medical marijuana issued licenses," Kautz said Tuesday. "Therefore, placing marijuana subject to a state medical marijuana license in Schedule III of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act is inconsistent with the police powers exercised to date by the Wyoming Legislature."
Wyoming law requires the commissioner of drugs and substances control — a role held by the attorney general — to align state scheduling with federal changes within 30 days, but permits the commissioner to object after a public hearing. Kautz held that hearing in June and collected written comments: four favored keeping cannabis on Schedule I, four favored Schedule III, and one in-person witness urged retaining Schedule I status. Kautz noted that FDA-approved cannabis medications, including dronabinol, Cesamet and Epidiolex, are already scheduled under federal law and will continue to be handled that way. He called the decision "final unless altered by statute," leaving reform to lawmakers rather than administrative rulemaking.
The federal shift stems from an April order by Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche moving state-licensed medical marijuana products, plus any FDA-approved cannabis products, from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act. A separate DEA administrative hearing is examining broader rescheduling, including for recreational cannabis.
Wyoming has no medical marijuana program. Advocacy efforts to legalize medical use and decriminalize possession have twice failed to qualify for the ballot. In 2022, the House speaker introduced a bipartisan bill to replace criminal possession penalties with a $100 fine, but it never got a floor vote despite Republican leadership support. A 2021 adult-use legalization bill cleared a House committee but stalled. A 2020 poll found 54 percent of Wyoming residents supported legal personal possession for adults.
Other states without full medical cannabis programs face similar questions. A South Carolina Republican senator said medical marijuana became legal there under a trigger provision. In May, Alabama's Department of Public Health voted to delay automatic rescheduling, citing implementation concerns. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed legislation this session blocking a review that could have triggered state medical marijuana legalization.
