"We sure do grow lotsa good things besides watermelons here in Arkansas"

Bill Clinton according to Terry Reed

[Note: this piece is based on an account from Compromised: Clinton, Bush and the CIA by Terry Reed and John Cummings, originally published in 1995. The allegations made by Reed and Cummings have been hotly contested over the years by a number of individuals and organizations with vested interests in Bill Clinton’s political career. Make of them what you will.]

Reports of drug use by Bill Clinton have floated around since the mid-1980s. That they have been more or less ignored should come as no surprise, especially to students of drug politics. If anything, Clinton is known for his famous remark that he tried smoking marijuana but “didn’t inhale.” Was that really the case, though?

In 1985, while Clinton was governor of Arkansas, his brother Roger plead guilty to a cocaine distribution charge. According to former air pilot and intelligence operative Terry Reed, the case against Roger Clinton was conducted primarily by officers who were loyal to Frank White, Clinton’s main political opponent in Arkansas.¹ Reed also believed that the feds used Roger’s charge as leverage to get him to inform on his friends in Arkansas—but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Years later, after Bill Clinton became president, he pardoned his brother of the cocaine charges. But just a month after the pardon, Roger was charged with drunk driving in California. And Roger wasn’t the only one who like to catch a buzz, apparently.