Donald Trump and his allies had a field day with allegations and innuendo when a baggie of cocaine was found in a cubby in the White House last year, and more so when Federal law enforcement was unable to trace it to a source.
Meanwhile, it’s the drugs in the Trump White House that have the Department of Defense concerned.
The Department released a report this month based on an analysis of records from the in-house pharmacy at the White House. It turns out that internal controls were out the window during the last presidential term, and almost anyone could collect controlled substances with little oversight.
The report also estimates the White House pharmacy spent more than $144k on Ambien and Provigil, eschewing generic brands, during the time period examined, which doesn’t even cover Trump’s entire term. Rolling Stone reports:
“The investigation, which began in 2018 after the Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) received complaints about improper medical practices within the White House Medical Unit, found a slew of compliance issues and improper safety standards…In its conclusion, the DoD OIG recommended that the Director of the Defense Health Agency aid the White House in developing more robust policies for the control and management of prescription medication.”
Ambien is a sedative sleep aid, and Provigil is a stimulant for the treatment of narcolepsy.
That’s not all, either. There were additional costs for drugs prescribed through Walter Reed Military Hospital, where another $100k worth of “overspending” was found in the purchase of brand-name drugs, according to ARS Technica.
Who was receiving all these drugs?
The truth is, it would be hard to say. The report further finds that the drugs were being prescribed or distributed to “ineligible staff,” and that even though both drugs named are controlled substances, the person picking up often was not the person to whom the medication was prescribed.
Pharmacy staff say they were expected to go along with this.
It’s hardly the first concern raised about drug use in the Trump White House, either. A previous DoD report directly addressed former White House Doctor Ronny Jackson, now a U.S. Congressman from Texas.
Trump’s White House doctor was accused of drinking on the job, using sleeping meds to a degree that raised questions about his ability to perform his duties, and “overprescribing” medications, according to the Texas Tribune.
There’s been a lot of speculation over the course of Trump’s political career about whether he’s abusing meds.
Noel Casler, a former staff member for Celebrity Apprentice claimed Trump snorted Adderall on set, an allegation which Trump has never addressed, either by accusing Casler of defamation or taking him to court for violating a non-disclosure agreement.
Casler has claimed this is proof his allegation is true, because Trump is caught in a catch-22, where accusing the former staffer of breaking his NDA would be an admission and calling it defamation would open up the discovery process.
Others in the public sphere have speculated about Trump’s sniffing, slurring, and other behaviors.
Ultimately, though, any guesses about who was behind the glut of drug use in Trump’s Administration is just speculation — but that there was a problem is now confirmed fact, thanks to the DoD investigation and report.
