A Pentagon investigation of a three-year period during the Trump administration found the White House Medical Unit had an obscene lack of control over the handling of controlled medications, and provided health care to ineligible staffers when Trump was in office.
The report does not mention Dr. Ronny Jackson, Trump’s White House physician at the time, but shows context of 2018 complaints of nearly two dozen colleagues accusing him of improper activities, including providing prescription drugs without proper paperwork. Jackson’s actions earned him the nickname “Candyman.”
The report states that the “White House Medical Unit dispensed prescription medications, including controlled substances, to ineligible White House staff.”
The White House Medical Unit’s pharmacy operations stocked four opioid pain medications: fentanyl, hydrocodone, morphine and oxycodone. But poor pharmacy protocols “increased the risk for the diversion of controlled substances” to illicit use.
Surgical services were also available. Aliases were used “to provide free specialty care and surgery to ineligible White House staff members at military medical treatment facilities,” according to the report.
The report stated that sleeping pill Ambien and stimulant Provigil, were dispensed “without verifying the patient’s identity.” A witness told investigators “Dr. [X] asked if I could hook up this person with some Provigil as a parting gift for leaving the White House … in the unit, it was authorized for us to do that kind of stuff.”
What is Provigil?
From Drugs.com:
Provigil is a medication that promotes wakefulness. It is thought to work by altering the natural chemicals (neurotransmitters) in the brain.
Provigil is used to treat excessive sleepiness caused by sleep apnea, narcolepsy, or shift work sleep disorder.
Provogil’s generic name is Modafinil.
From the American Addiction Centers:
Modafinil is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant medication used primarily to help people remain awake, combat fatigue, and increase concentration. It is an eugeroic medication, which means it is wakefulness-promoting agent.
Modafinil also has off-label uses as a cognitive enhancer, to help people to focus their attention more efficiently.
Symptoms of Modafinil overdose include:
- Excitation, anxiety, or agitation
- Insomnia,
- Slight or moderate elevations in hemodynamic parameters (e.g., blood pressure or heart rate changes such as heart palpitations)
- Tremor
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Psychosis in rare cases
