In Pain, In Idaho
By: Conner Drigotas
Peaceful Criminal
Imagine living in constant pain. Welcome to Katie Donahue's life. She experiences severe pain she likens to “being struck by lightning through your face, constantly.” This pain is a side effect of conditions she has had since birth, including Parry-Romberg Syndrome and Trigeminal neuralgia.
She is one of only 26 people in the United States diagnosed with Parry-Romberg, a condition that involves a slow breakdown of the skin and soft tissue in the face, as well as deterioration of facial muscles, cartilage, and bones.
To manage her near-constant pain, Katie says she uses “pretty much every form of cannabinoid therapy.” That includes smokables, oils, and concentrates. Katie believes they are safer than commercially available opioid pain management options.
The data supports her belief. Of the 107,941 overdose deaths tracked by the National Institute of Health (NIH) for 2022, not a single one was from marijuana. On the other hand, synthetic opioids accounted for 73,838 of those deaths. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported that the state had 270 opioid-related overdoses in 2022.
As she battles what has been dubbed “the suicide disease,” because 50% of persons with this condition take their own lives, Katie raises turkeys and chickens on a farm north of Boise with her husband and children. She credits her 20-year relationship with cannabis with mitigating her pain to the point that she can maintain the relationships which mean so much to her.
She uses cannabis, despite the legal risk, as the only clear outlet to stay alive and live her best possible life.
Idaho officials are not supportive or sympathetic. She is left with these choices: leave her beloved home in Idaho, stop using nonaddictive pain management tools, or live with the crippling pain she was born with.
Katie sees the problems in the system. “The system right now needs a lot of holes fixed,” she says. “They are forcing me to choose between living in pain, or relieving it and being arrested. Is this respecting me? It feels like an act of violence against me.”
Why not leave?
Idaho is one of only four states whose laws prohibit the use of marijuana of any kind, recreationally or medicinally. Use or possession in Idaho can mean between one and five years in prison, and between $1,000 and $10,000 in fines, along with the legal costs that such a charge may incur.
Despite 68% of Idaho residents supporting marijuana legalization for medical purposes, Idaho officials appear to be making a mockery of Katie and others similarly seeking medical access to marijuana. In the 2024 session, Representative Bruce Skaug introduced HB606 which would add a mandatory minimum $420 fine for possession of less than 3 oz of the plant, on top of existing penalties. The bill was printed and referred to the Judiciary, Rules & Administration Committee, of which the first term Representative Skaug is the chair, but was never taken up.
Skaug’s phone number on the Idaho legislative website is for a past employer who says he is now retired, his statehouse phone number is unmonitored when not in session, and he did not respond with clarification about his intent when attempting to impose this new penalty, though he responded with a brief email shortly before deadline saying “A bill for a minimum fine amount for misdemeanor MJ possession will be brought again next session. I expect it will become law.”
The Idaho Capital Sun reported that Skaug was jovial during the introduction of the bill in 2024, saying “Skaug also dropped several marijuana-related puns when he told [the] committee he 'smoked out' the problem in his last bill and ran the changes by his assistant, 'Mary Jane.'”
Pretend you're Katie Donahue, her husband, or a close friend. Do you find that funny, let alone respectful?
The impasse between the majority of Idahoan's and the 105 Representatives and Senators is no laughing matter and begs the question: by what moral authority are Idaho officials using the threat of force to deprive constituents of access to life-improving medicine?
Despite little hope of her prayer for relief being answered by Idaho lawmakers, Katie has no intention of fleeing the prohibition-era state. “I shouldn't have to uproot and leave my home simply because I have an illness,” she says.
Katie also has a clear idea of who stands in the way of living peacefully and pain-free: “Right now the biggest bully in my life is the government.”
Delegated Evils
Katie takes issue with the improperly Delegated Agency granted to government officials in Idaho and elsewhere. “Most Americans wouldn't do this to me, not directly at least.” she says, “But we often vote for and pay for law enforcement officials who disrespect me.”
In Idaho, the issue is uniquely clear. The use of force to limit marijuana use and possession lacks popular support and is not a power Katie has ever delegated to a government agent. Her consent is being violated to the detriment of her physical and financial well-being. Lawmakers don’t seem to care. Do you?
As Katie considers what the future looks like, respect for her fellow humans is at the forefront of her mind, “I don't want to inflict this kind of physical pain on my neighbor, and you probably don't either,” she says “Given that this is my life, I should be able to do what I believe will give me the greatest relief and happiness without me physically harming anyone.”
Positive change, then, starts with a promise to care for her fellow humans by honoring their inherent value and unique life choices.
“I pledge to respect you,” she says, “Will you respect me?”
Katie’s Story
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