(Idaho Freedom Caucus Message, April 3, 2025)
This morning, Idaho Freedom Caucus co-chair Senator Tammy Nichols presented Senate Bill 1211, which would allow Idahoans to purchase Ivermectin without a prescription.
Ivermectin has been around for decades. Discovered in 1975, it was initially used to treat parasites in farm animals before being approved for human use in 1987. Since then, it has saved millions of lives worldwide, earning its discoverers the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2015.
Across the globe, Ivermectin is widely used to treat head lice, scabies, lymphatic issues, autoimmune disorders, inflammation, bacterial and viral infections, and more. It is considered extremely safe, with side effects comparable to those of aspirin.
Yet, in the United States, access to this life saving drug has been restricted – not based on science, but on politics. During the pandemic, many pharmacists refused to fill prescriptions for Ivermectin, while the media dismissed it as mere “horse paste.”
Other countries have allowed citizens to purchase Ivermectin over the counter for years without issue. Recently, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas signed a law permitting its sale without a prescription. Idaho should follow suit. We don’t need permission from Big Pharma lobbyists to take aspirin or Tylenol, and we shouldn’t need permission to take Ivermectin either.
The Senate overwhelmingly agreed, passing SB 1211 by a vote of 25-9-1. We urge the House to take up this bill before the session ends and call on Governor Little to sign this commonsense legislation into law.
