I think the recent veto by Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter reflects a culture of archaic and deep-rooted social misconceptions that exist in Idaho.
Otter attempted to halt the Idaho Court systems from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, which has legitimately no legal reasoning besides traditionally conservative rhetoric.
Otter has consistently taken stances on issues that are seemingly nonsensical, especially for Idahoans who support policies based on facts and statistics, like myself.
So, when Otter vetoed a bill that would allow children with a severe form of epilepsy to be treated with non-psychotropic oil extracted from cannabis, I was outraged.
The Epilepsy Foundation, the United Patients Group, CURE (Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy) and a host of research groups have consistently stated that cannabis can drastically decrease the amount of seizures children have.
Parents of children affected by epilepsy should have the option of an effective treatment.
In time, I hope Idahoans realize our governor does have the ability to affect policies that can change the lives of every day citizens, and when a predominantly conservative legislature pass progressive legislation such as this cannabis bill for children, so too should our governor.
Stetson Holman