Resident cites Wyoming Constitution and personal penalties in appeal to Casper Council on medical cannabis
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Summary
A local resident told the council that Article 1, Section 38 of the Wyoming Constitution protects health-care decisions and criticized Wyoming statute 35-7-1031 for criminalizing possession, describing personal prosecution and calling for legislative change.
Ryan Perry of Evansville addressed the Casper City Council on Feb. 3 about medical cannabis, arguing that Article 1, Section 38 of the Wyoming Constitution — which he summarized as guaranteeing health-care decision rights and permitting direct payment for care — supports medical cannabis access.
Perry described his own criminal prosecution under Wyoming statute 35-7-1031 for small-quantity possession, saying it led to probation requirements and a six-month jail sentence that he said should have been a minor fine. "This should have been a $100 fine, not a year of hell," he said, and he framed the sentencing outcome as a predictable result of statutes that prioritize punishment over health.
He urged local officials to support state-level change through the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM) and legislative advocacy, saying that recognition of out-of-state medical cards (Colorado, Oklahoma, Montana) would prevent veterans and cancer patients from criminalization when crossing state lines.
Council response: Councilors expressed sympathy and noted prior engagement on related issues, including failed local votes to carry an initiative forward to WAM in the past. One councilor offered to provide additional materials Perry could use in legislative testimony; another noted past votes where Casper considered recommending change to WAM.
What wasn’t decided: The meeting record does not show a motion or council vote to endorse specific state-level legislative language or to place a local initiative on a future agenda.
