Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards must be wheezing and rasping a sigh of relief today, now that that state’s Parole Board has approved an application for clemency submitted by Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee over a 31-year-old arrest.

A pardon will now be forwarded to Huckabee within 30 days. And he will no doubt sign this important and crucial document once he clears off all the “congratulations” messages he received after Arkansas came in number 48 on the list of “Healthiest US States” last year.

Richards was arrested in 1975, as he and other Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood (Richards’ “second” in a recent duel with a palm tree) were driving from Memphis to Dallas. An Arkansas cop pulled the swaying (surprise!) vehicle over. Police said they smelled marijuana, but everyone knows that a Marijuana Air Freshener is the best thing to get that “old burnt spoon” smell out of your car.

Richards was charged with reckless driving and possession of a concealed knife (for cleaning out his deep face-crevasses), and a fan that was riding with the two was charged with “possession of a controlled substance,” which was pleaded down to “sharing a ride with a Keith Richards.”

Richards pleaded guilty to reckless driving and paid a $162.50 fine, which nowadays will buy you a seat in the parking lot at a Rolling Stones show.

Huckabee is a longtime fan of the band. He plays bass guitar in a group called Capitol Offense that performed for the RNC in 2004, although many Republican delegates found the act of “laying down some bottom” to be an offense against man and God.