Should Wyoming Consider Pot Legalization To Balance The Budget?

A recent report said the state of Colorado has collected over $1 billion in tax revenues on cannabis since weed was legalized in the state in 2014.

Meanwhile, some economists are saying Wyoming faces a budget shortfall ranging anywhere from several hundred million to $1 billion in coming years. Cheyenne-based economist Sven Larson of the Wyoming Liberty Group recently said he thinks there is a chance state lawmakers may go into panic mode and approve a corporate and possibly even a personal income tax in the 2020 session of the Wyoming Legislature.

He said that is especially likely if the economy goes into a recession, as he thinks it may, adding he thinks the state should cut spending instead of imposing new taxes of any kind. Larson did not call for or even discuss legalizing marijuana as an avenue to balancing the budget, just to be clear.

But if Wyoming really is facing a huge budget shortfall, is it time to look at legalizing and taxing marijuana as a way to balance the books? Or do you think legal weed would cost the state more money than it would bring in? Perhaps legalizing pot would open a Pandora's box that would keep causing problems long after the state's budget woes are over?

We'll publish the results of our survey on Monday, July 1.