Education department pushes for harsher penalties for fentanyl distribution to minors

Judiciary Committee considers stricter punishment for providing drug to minors.

JACKSON — The Wyoming Department of Education advocated Tuesday for harsher penalties for fentanyl distribution crimes when a minor is involved.

Dicky Shanor, the department’s chief of staff, proposed a five-year enhancement to the minimum sentence to the Joint Judiciary Committee.

Committee members are spending time before the 2026 legislative session examining issues concerning fentanyl, including trafficking crimes and other fentanyl-rated offenses.

Wyoming is ranked last in the nation for overall drug overdose deaths, and among the lowest for fentanyl-related deaths.

“Minors are uniquely vulnerable,” Shanor wrote in a memo to the committee. “Their brains are still developing and they are more susceptible to addiction. Furthermore, they lack the awareness and judgment to recognize the signs of an overdose or to seek help.

“When fentanyl is involved in cases with minors, it is not simply a drug offense; it is a threat to their lives and futures.”

Rep. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, committee co-chair, was particularly concerned with distribution to minors, and Shanor said he was not alone. The education department and Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder say the current penalties don’t adequately address the heightened risk for minors.

“The superintendent has talked to many of her counterparts across the country who are dealing with this issue as well and really trying to engage legislative bodies to see what we can do — if there’s anything that we can do in statute in terms of penalties to help with this crisis,” Shanor said.

“In Wyoming, we’ve seen a spike in incidents of fentanyl in the last three years,” he said. “We’ve seen many fatalities.”

The education department doesn’t collect data of this nature on its own, but Shanor cited Wyoming crime lab data that showed the number of items containing fentanyl has increased from 290 in 2022 to 836 in 2024.

The Wyoming Department of Health reported that between 2019 and 2023, fewer than five individuals between the ages of 15 and 19 died due to a synthetic opioid overdose, which includes fentanyl. Two milligrams is a lethal dose, which is about the tip of a pencil, according to the education department memo.

The death rate jumped to an estimated 17 individuals for ages 20 to 24. The overall death rate in those four years was 6.9 per 100,000 for all ages. Around 95% of those overdoses were unintentional. There was no data available online for 2024 or 2025.

Wyoming’s rate was significantly lower than nationwide.

Close to 22.2 people per 100,000 died in 2023 from synthetic opioid drug overdoses, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The number of estimated deaths for 2024 was 48,422 in total, a significant decrease from 76,282 the year prior.

Teton County’s synthetic opioid overdose rate was also among the lowest in the state.

Fewer than five individuals between 2019 and 2023 were reported to have died from an overdose, according to the health department.

The Teton County Sheriff’s Office rarely arrests for fentanyl possession, according to drug seizure data between 2019 and 2024. The most frequently seized drug remains marijuana, at least partly because Wyomingites have easy access to cannabis shops in states where it’s legal, including Colorado, Oregon and Montana. Although methamphetamine and cocaine continue to be a persistent issue.

Teton County School District didn’t report a growing presence of fentanyl in its schools, either.

“The district is concerned about a drug such as fentanyl, given how strong and deadly it is,” district spokeswoman Charlotte Reynolds said Tuesday. “But we have not had any incidents of fentanyl in our schools.”

Shanor said the Wyoming Department of Education wants the Legislature to be proactive.

In Wyoming, a person manufacturing, delivering or possessing a Schedule II substance such as fentanyl with intent to deliver could result in a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000 or both. The Legislative Service Office also reported to the Judiciary Committee that a person who possesses fentanyl along with other Schedule I or II drugs could be found guilty of a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, a fine of up to $15,000 or both.

There are also additional punishments for endangering children with fentanyl by “knowingly and willfully” causing them to absorb, inhale or ingest the opioid; remain in a room where it’s manufactured or sold; or enter and remain in a room where it’s stored or manufactured. A person could face a felony and up to five years’ imprisonment, a $5,000 fine or both.

Shanor said there need to be stricter penalties to prevent any future incidents, and recommended also looking at increasing penalties for possession on school district property or mandatory minimum sentences for offenses that involve minors. The chief of staff looked to other states for direction in his memo.California added years to sentences for fentanyl and other similar substances for offenses that occur within 1,000 feet of school grounds or youth facilities, as well, according to Shanor.

But Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, said enhanced penalties only seem to matter if people are aware that they exist.

“There’s no deterrent value in a penalty that catches somebody by surprise,” he said. “So, is the superintendent’s office interested in partnership with other agencies of state government?”

Washut proposed the department take on an educational campaign with the state to let the public know there are more severe penalties for selling drugs on school grounds or to minors.

Shanor answered, “Absolutely.”

While the Judiciary Committee took an increased interest in minors’ access to fentanyl, lawmakers are interested in pursuing stricter sentences for possession and distribution at all age levels. Legislators also are considering whether there should be additional penalties when law enforcement is put in contact or more danger with the lethal substances in the field.

The committee plans to come back and study what other states are doing and how to make changes to the criminal code that best fit Wyoming.

This story was published on May 21, 2025.