DRUGS

In January, I wrote about a new Department of Defense Inspector General (IG) report exposing “severe and systemic” ethical and criminal violations with drug dispensing and consumption at the White House during the Trump administration. Following interviews with several key sources, Rolling Stone has released additional information that paints a fuller picture of this “anything-anytime-anywhere approach” that “inspired a sense of entitlement among Trump staffers.”

The sources interviewed described Trump’s White House Medical Unit (WHMU) as “like the Wild West,” where staffers had access to powerful stimulants and sedatives as if they were candy. One source described the White House as “awash in speed,” with staffers easily gaining access to controlled substances while they worked late hours responding to the Mueller probe or whatever hateful and chaotic initiative or endeavor Donald Trump demanded they pursue.

Sources also reported that Xanax was widely popular and attainable, even though it was not among the drugs that made it into the IG report. Making matters worse, given the lax environment, senior staffers reportedly put their lives at risk by routinely ingesting Xanax with alcohol to combat the “sky-high levels of stress” that Trump created.

Related to this drug free-for-all came another disturbing problem: an apparent lack of safeguarding sensitive patient information. The sloppy culture of the Trump White House meant therapists were pressured to divulge information they learned during confidential WHMU counseling sessions. Any WHMU staffer who wanted to uphold health and privacy protocols feared termination. Welcome to the Trump White House.