There’s an interesting governor’s race shaping up in Arkansas, particularly for those of us opposed to the drug war and, more pertinently, for those of who who’ve followed the issue of prescription pain medication.

Mike Beebe is running for the Democrat nomination. Beebe is the state’s attorney general at the moment, and was one of the signatories to the National Associaton of Attorneys General’s letter to the DEA, chiding the agency for it’s handling of the opioid issue.

Should Beebe get the nomination, he’ll likely fase Republican Asa Hutchinson. Hutchinson is the former administrator of the DEA, a hardened drug warrior, and was at the helm when the DEA implemented its anti-opioid camapign. It was under Hutchison’s leadership that the DEA began its tactic of arresting doctors for prescribing what drug cops thought were too many painkillers. In the process, the vicious campaign left millions of chronic pain patients in the lurch.

The Arkansas media has already taken note of the candidates’ opposition positions on the issue. Which means the election might be a rare opportunity for Drug War critics to have an impact, and possibly help deliver defeat to a longtime foe. Of course, i doubt Beebe would have much use for the “pro-drug” tab. But Hutchison’s pretty hardcore. Not much on the whole “civil liberties and personal freedom” thing.

Be nice to see him lose.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 14th, 2005 at 9:39 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Pain Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.