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The investigation requested records from 2014 through 2020, but records were only provided from 2017 to 2020. President Barack Obama was president until January 2017, while President Donald Trump was president until January 2021.
There were some documents uncovered from the Obama administration, including a handwritten note dated March 2014. The note instructed staffers to hand out medications to people, “including all controlled substances,” without verifying the patient’s identity.
Some witnesses said that their work at the pharmacy involved pre-packing drugs.
“So we would normally make these packets of Ambien and Provigil, and a lot of times they’d be in like five tablets in a zip‑lock bag,” one said. “And so traditionally, too, we would hand these out. ... But a lot of times the senior staff would come by or their staff representatives ... would come by the residence clinic to pick it up. And it was very much a, hey, I’m here to pick this up for Ms. X.; And the expectation was we just go ahead and pass it out.”
Ambien is a sedative while Provigil is a stimulant. Both are controlled substances that require prescriptions.
According to another witness, a doctor asked if he or she could dole out the stimulant as a “parting gift for leaving the White House.
“And at the time, the corpsmen and the medics, the enlisted corpsmen and the medics, [said] it was okay for us to dispense Provigil and Ambien without having a provider present,“ the witness said, adding: ”I’m not sure if it was okay as far as, like, what’s medically allowed. But in the unit, it was authorized for us to do that kind of stuff.”
Investigators also reviewed financial records and discovered that the medical unit frequently used Ambien and Provigil despite the generic versions, which are cheaper, generally being required by federal regulations. The unit spent $46,500 over three years for Ambien, which is 174 times more expensive than the generic version, and $98,000 for Provigil, despite it being 55 times more expensive than the generic equivalent.
Investigators recommended the DoD develop an oversight plan for the pharmacy and revamp its outpatient medical services, including establishing procedures to verify whether people are eligible to receive drugs through the Military Health System. The DoD agreed with the recommendations and said they have started to act on them. The inspector general said it would work to verify later that the recommendations are adopted.
Another investigation previously found that Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), while running the White House Medical Unit, misused Ambien and engaged in other improper conduct.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/white-house-pharmacy-dispensed-drugs-without-verifying-patient-identities-inspector-general-5574470