It’s been back and forth in the Idaho Statehouse over whether to legalize oil extracted from cannabis plants.
The House voted for it, then a Senate committee killed the bill. Now, the bill may come back, after that committee broke the law.
The fact that lawmakers may take a second look at legalizing CBD oil was welcome news to a Treasure Valley woman.
She spoke exclusively with 6 On Your Side about how CBD oil is helping her manage chronic pain and avoid addictive opioids.
Ruth Burtcher's body is covered in bruises from head to toe. She’s nearly 50 years old but said at times she feels as though she is 100, all because of a long list of conditions she has been diagnosed with that cause daily debilitating chronic pain.
“There is some days where the pain is so overwhelming that I have to be bathed by my child,” said Burtcher.
Burtcher said she has been prescribed a cabinet full of medication including methadone, morphine, opana, and oxycodone to help ease the pain, but Burtcher said those don’t come without side effects.
"When you are on all of those pain meds on a daily basis you’re a zombie and you are not living,” explained Burtcher.
Burtcher said the only thing she has found that relieves the pain without leaving her feeling drugged or lethargic is CBD oil.
“This oil is a blessing but at the same time it's a curse because I am not allowed to use it in my own home,” said Burtcher.
Burtcher says she has resorted to hitting the roads with her trucker husband so she can have access to CBD oil legally in other states.
“How dare they tell me I cannot better myself,” said Butcher. “Why should I have to flee my own state? Why should I not be able to enjoy my family? why is that fair?”
Although Burtcher said she risks not being able to have access to her pain medication for speaking out, she is doing it anyway in hopes of helping others.
"I don't want my daughter to suffer as much as I am because she has a lot of the similar health issues as I do,” explained Burtcher.
Now, she is begging for lawmakers to hear her cries.
“Please consider people like me. There are hundreds and thousands of us that suffer on a daily basis. Stop thinking of your own ideology and think of the people that are around you and suffering,” said Butcher.
