How to Get a Cannabis License in Wyoming (2026)

You can’t get a cannabis license in Wyoming, because the state has no legal marijuana market. As of November 2026, Wyoming has no adult-use program, no medical program and no decriminalization law, so no state agency issues dispensary, cultivation or processing licenses for marijuana.

What is legal is narrow. The Wyoming Department of Agriculture licenses hemp growers and processors, and stores can sell hemp and CBD products only if they contain no synthetic or added psychoactive substances and stay under the state’s THC limit. Since 2024, Wyoming has banned delta-8, THCA flower and similar intoxicating hemp products, earlier and more strictly than federal law. A small state program also lets certain people with intractable epilepsy register to use hemp extract.

This guide explains what Wyoming law allows today, the long list of bills and ballot drives that failed, what named sources say about the future, and what a business can do legally now. We checked it against Wyoming Legislature records, Department of Agriculture rules, the Secretary of State’s initiative records and dated news coverage in late October and early November 2026.

Key takeaways

Wyoming has no state marijuana business license of any kind, and no agency is accepting applications.
The only state cannabis-plant license is the Department of Agriculture’s hemp license for growing and processing.
Wyoming already bans intoxicating hemp products such as delta-8 and THCA flower, and a federal court refused to block that ban.
Every recent decriminalization, medical and rescheduling bill has died early, and no cannabis initiative has reached the ballot, so change would need new action from lawmakers or voters.
Cannabis rules differ by state and change often, so check current Wyoming rules before you invest.

Who regulates cannabis businesses in Wyoming?

There’s no marijuana regulator because there’s nothing to regulate. Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance under the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act. According to a July 2026 Cannabis Business Times report, being under the influence can bring up to 6 months in jail, possessing 3 ounces or less up to 12 months, possessing more up to 5 years, and selling any amount is a felony carrying up to 10 years and a $10,000 fine.

The bodies that matter for a business today are:

Wyoming Department of Agriculture (WDA): Runs the state hemp program under Title 11, Chapter 51 of the Wyoming Statutes and Chapter 61 of its rules.
Attorney General: Also serves as commissioner of drugs and substance control, who decides how state drug schedules respond to federal changes.
Wyoming Department of Health: Runs the Hemp Extract Registry, which issues cards to qualifying patients.
Cities and counties: They can’t license marijuana. Local zoning still governs where a hemp business can operate.

What cannabis license types are there in Wyoming?

None for marijuana. The table shows what is and isn’t allowed as of November 2026, plus the hemp license and registration that exist.

License or activity	What it lets you do (or why you can’t)	Application fee	Annual or renewal fee
Adult-use marijuana business (retail, grow, processing, delivery, lounge)	Not legal. No state law creates these licenses	Not available	Not available
Medical marijuana business	Not legal. Wyoming has no medical program	Not available	Not available
Marijuana testing lab or research license	Not available under state law	Not available	Not available
WDA hemp license (grow, process or both)	Grow and/or process hemp at mapped, approved sites. Licenses can’t be transferred	$750 nonrefundable per application ($500 for a nonprofit or educational organization), per the WDA’s USDA-approved plan; confirm the current amount with the WDA	Same fee to renew; every license expires December 31. Department sampling and analysis cost up to $200 each, and verifying disposal of a failed crop up to $250
Hemp and CBD retail	Sell hemp products with no synthetic substance and no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight, measured after decarboxylation. No hemp-specific retail license exists	No hemp-specific state fee; general business registrations apply	No hemp-specific state fee
Delta-8, THCA flower and other intoxicating hemp THC products	Not legal to sell in Wyoming since mid-2024. The state’s THC definition covers psychoactive isomers and analogs	Not available	Not available
Hemp extract registration card	Lets people with intractable epilepsy or seizure conditions, with a neurologist’s statement, use hemp extract. A patient card, not a business license	Initial fee not stated in the rule sections we checked; ask the Wyoming Department of Health	$150 nonrefundable renewal fee; each card is valid for one year

The hemp fee is charged per application, not per acre, and the WDA won’t start reviewing an application until it’s paid. For comparison with states that license dispensaries, see our guide to dispensary license costs by state.

Are Wyoming cannabis licenses open right now?

No. As of November 2026 there’s no marijuana licensing window, no waitlist and no license to buy or transfer, because no law authorizes one. The Legislature’s 2026 budget session ended without passing any cannabis bill, and the next general session starts in January 2027.

Federal rescheduling didn’t change that. After the U.S. Justice Department moved state-licensed medical cannabis and FDA-approved cannabis products to Schedule III in April 2026, Wyoming’s commissioner objected and held a public hearing. In July 2026, Attorney General Keith Kautz ruled that marijuana “shall remain on Schedule I” in Wyoming, saying the choice “is an important policy decision that is best left with the Wyoming Legislature.”

The hemp license is open year-round. You apply on the WDA’s form by email or mail, and a license runs only for the rest of the calendar year it’s approved in.

A history of cannabis law in Wyoming

Wyoming has kept prohibition more firmly than most of its neighbors, even as several of them legalized. The timeline below shows the main turns.

Prohibition

Wyoming banned cannabis in the early 20th century; historians give different years. Penalties stayed among the strictest in the region. The Marijuana Policy Project lists Wyoming among the states that still allow jail time for simple possession.

Hemp extract and hemp

In 2015, House Bill 32 became law without Gov. Matt Mead’s signature, creating hemp extract registration cards for people with intractable epilepsy or seizure conditions. A 2018 bill extended cards to some disabled or dependent adults. In 2019, House Bill 171 set up a state hemp production program, and the USDA accepted Wyoming’s hemp plan in February 2020, with final rules in effect that August.

In 2024, Senate File 32 closed the intoxicating hemp market. Gov. Mark Gordon signed it on March 7, and from July 1 it banned synthetic substances in hemp, counted psychoactive THC isomers as THC and closed the THCA flower loophole. Eleven businesses led by Casper’s Green Room sued, but U.S. District Judge Kelly Rankin denied a preliminary injunction that July, finding states may set stricter hemp rules than the Farm Bill.

Bills by session

Rep. James Byrd’s decriminalization bill failed in the House for the third straight year in 2016. A medical bill was filed in 2019 and a legalization bill, House Bill 209, died in the House in 2021 after missing a deadline. In the 2022 budget session, House Bill 106 (decriminalization) and House Bill 143 (medical) failed, and in 2024 House Bill 204, which would have made possession a civil fine, needed a two-thirds vote just to be introduced and didn’t become law. In 2025, House Bill 191 on civil penalties was not considered for introduction, and in 2026, House Bill 166, which would have moved marijuana to Schedule III, met the same fate on February 13.

Ballot drives and local action

Wyoming’s initiative rules are among the hardest in the country, and the last initiative to reach the ballot was a 1996 term-limits measure. Wyoming NORML’s Peggy A. Kelley Wyoming Cannabis Act was certified for circulation in 2015 but never qualified. Two Libertarian-backed initiatives, the Wyoming Patient Cannabis Act and the Wyoming Cannabis Amendments, were certified in August 2021, and the Secretary of State’s records show their circulation period expired in March 2023 without reaching the ballot. Organizers blamed confusing guidance on how many signatures were needed; Secretary of State Chuck Gray called their claims unfounded. Locally, Cheyenne’s council rejected reforms in March 2023 and later in 2023 passed a resolution asking the state to consider decriminalization.

What a business can legally do now

Growing or processing hemp

Apply to the WDA with a government ID or a Wyoming Secretary of State certificate of good standing, aerial maps of each growing lot and processing facility, and a criminal history report for each key participant dated within 60 days. Anyone with a controlled-substance felony conviction in the past decade is denied, with a narrow exception for people who grew hemp legally under the 2014 federal pilot rules. Your crop is sampled and tested before harvest, and plants over the limit must be destroyed.

Selling hemp and CBD products

You can sell CBD and other hemp products that meet the state definition in the table. Get a certificate of analysis for every batch, and check that it measures total THC after decarboxylation, not just delta-9. Our guide to reading cannabis lab results explains the difference. Don’t stock delta-8, delta-10, THC-O, THCA flower or hemp THC gummies; they are illegal in Wyoming regardless of federal rules.

Federal changes

The new federal hemp definition, passed in November 2025, takes effect for most products in December 2026 after Congress delayed it. Wyoming’s rules are already stricter in most ways, but read every product against both standards.

Working with neighboring states

Colorado and Montana allow adult-use sales, and several other neighbors run medical programs. A Wyoming resident can lawfully work for or invest in a licensed business there under that state’s rules, but bringing cannabis back into Wyoming is a crime under state and federal law.

Local approval and zoning in Wyoming

With no marijuana license, there’s no local marijuana permit. For a hemp farm, processor or CBD store, check county and city zoning for agricultural, industrial or retail use, and ask whether any local rule covers hemp processing or extraction. Wyoming cities can pass resolutions urging change, as Cheyenne did, but they can’t legalize marijuana locally.

Wyoming has no cannabis social equity program because it has no cannabis market. Recent bills focused on penalties and scheduling rather than licensing, so none set out equity rules. The American Civil Liberties Union’s 2018 analysis ranked Wyoming among the worst states for racial disparity in possession arrests.

What could change in Wyoming

The Legislature: Rep. Karlee Provenza and Sen. Cale Case have sponsored civil-penalty and rescheduling bills across several sessions. Opponents such as Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams have cited high THC potency; at a 2023 committee meeting she said current law is “pretty lenient compared to other states.”
The governor’s office: Gov. Gordon said during a 2022 debate that he would consider medical marijuana legislation, according to Cowboy State Daily. His term ends in January 2027, and voters choose his successor on November 3, 2026; that result is pending.
Ballot drives: In the sources we checked, we found no cannabis initiative currently circulating. Any new drive would face Wyoming’s signature and county distribution rules.
Federal policy: Rescheduling and the federal hemp rewrite haven’t moved state law so far, and the Attorney General has said scheduling is the Legislature’s call.

Wyoming cannabis market at a glance

54%of Wyoming residents supported legal adult possession for personal use (University of Wyoming WYSAC survey, 2020)

85%supported medical marijuana when a doctor recommends it (University of Wyoming WYSAC survey, 2020)

$236Mmarijuana tax and fee revenue collected next door in Colorado in 2025 (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2026)

36,000approximate signatures organizers gathered for the medical initiative that missed the ballot (MJBizDaily, 2023)

After you’re licensed: staying compliant as a hemp business

Renew every year: All WDA hemp licenses end on the same date, so reapply in time to avoid a gap.
Report changes: File the WDA amendment form before changing licensed areas or activities, and report contact changes within 10 days.
Sampling and harvest: Follow the WDA’s sampling and testing guidelines and file the harvest form. Keep chain-of-custody records.
Track your lots: Wyoming doesn’t require a seed-to-sale system for hemp, but lot tracking helps with recalls. See our seed-to-sale tracking explainer.
Store practices: Label products clearly, never market to minors and secure your inventory. Our labeling guide, dispensary compliance checklist and security requirements guide are useful models.

Your Wyoming cannabis license checklist

Accept that no marijuana license exists, and decide whether to run a compliant hemp business, wait or work in a neighboring legal state.
If you’ll grow or process hemp, download the WDA application and Chapter 61 rules.
Order criminal history reports for every key participant and time them to the 60-day window.
Map each growing lot and facility and confirm local zoning.
Line up a testing lab and audit every product for synthetic or intoxicating cannabinoids.
Check the new federal hemp definition against your product list before December.
Watch the 2027 general session for new civil-penalty, medical or scheduling bills.
Build training habits now; our budtender training guide shows what licensed states expect.

For new cannabis businesses: get found on WhereLeaf

WhereLeaf lists licensed cannabis businesses, so a Wyoming marijuana storefront can’t be listed until the state creates a license. If you run a licensed business in a legal state, add your business to WhereLeaf so customers using our dispensary finder can see your hours and menu, and compare our listing packages. Suppliers can join our supplier directory. We don’t promise rankings or sales, just an accurate listing.

Comparing markets? See all our cannabis license guides by state and province.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a cannabis license cost in Wyoming?

There’s no marijuana license, so there’s no fee. The table above covers the hemp license. Budget separately for criminal history reports, aerial mapping, lab tests and an attorney.

Is medical marijuana legal in Wyoming in 2026?

No. Wyoming has no medical marijuana program as of November 2026. The hemp extract card covers only certain epilepsy and seizure cases and doesn’t create dispensaries.

Is CBD legal in Wyoming?

Yes, if it meets the state’s hemp definition and contains no synthetic or added psychoactive substances. Ask for a lab report showing total THC.

Is delta-8 legal in Wyoming?

No. The 2024 hemp law made delta-8 and other psychoactive THC isomers illegal to sell, and a federal judge refused to block it. Lander police publicly announced enforcement soon after it took effect.

Can Wyoming voters legalize marijuana by ballot initiative?

In principle, yes, but it’s hard. Petitions must reach a signature total tied to the last general election turnout and meet a county distribution rule, and recent cannabis drives fell short.

Can I bring cannabis from Colorado or Montana into Wyoming?

No. Buying it there as an adult is legal, but bringing it into Wyoming breaks state law, and crossing state lines breaks federal law. See our guide on bringing cannabis across borders.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, so confirm everything with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and the Wyoming Legislature before you apply.

Sources

Last updated: November 2026. Laws and prices change; always check your state or provincial regulator.