To convict one doctor, zealots at DEA tore up pain guidelines developed over four years.(William Hurwitz)(Advertisement)

Last August, after an historic collaboration between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the University of Wisconsin's Pain & Policy Studies Group, the PEA published new and widely applauded Pain Management Guidelines intended to protect physicians from prosecution by overzealous federal agents. In October the PEA suddenly withdrew the Guidelines, effectively trashing years of effort. Why? According to the Washington Post, "The DEA's abrupt turnaround appeared to have been triggered when defense lawyers tried to introduce the new Guidelines in the trial of Dr. ...