A lengthy new report from the Department of Defense found that during Trump’s administration, the White House Medical Unit was mishandling dangerous prescription drugs.

The 80-page document released on January 8 detailed inappropriate mishandling of pharmaceuticals and their respective prescribing practices. The investigation into this matter began in 2018 after the Inspector General of the Department of Defense received complaints which included shoddy record keeping, overuse of brand name medications instead of cheaper generic alternatives, mishandling of medications such as one person picking up a prescription for another and so on. 

“Without oversight from qualified pharmacy staff, the White House Medical Unit’s pharmaceutical management practices may have been subject to prescribing errors and inadequate medication management, increasing the risk to the health and safety of patients treated within the unit. Additionally, the White House Medical Unit’s pharmaceutical management practices ineffectively used DoD funds by obtaining brand‑name medications instead of generic equivalents and increased the risk for the diversion of controlled substances,” the report said.

Over 120 officials were interviewed during the course of the investigation. Several witnesses gave testimony to the Department of Defense in the course of this investigation, almost all of whom described a very laissez faire environment compared to most pharmacies, or most fast food restaurants for that matter, which have all been under immense pressure from the DEA to crack down on mishandling of controlled substance. Most anyone who has tried to fill a prescription for opioid painkillers or stimulants like Adderall in the last five years can attest to this. 

“Anything that took place at the White House Clinic was never written down, never recorded. [However,] the only record that you ever had that a patient came in and got any sort of medication would have been if it was a controlled substance that we were required to document for the pharmacy. But if you came in and got any other prescription medication that wasn’t classified as a controlled substance there would be no record that you came in and did anything,” one witness told the Department of Defense, while another said that it was common practice to make “go-bags” of drugs like Ambien and Provigil for White House staffers before overseas trips.

In addition to mishandling of medications, the investigation found that taxpayers have been footing the bill for egregious overuse of brand name medications in lieu of their generic alternatives. Between 2017 and 2019, for instance, the White House spent $46,500 for Ambien and $98,000 for Provigil, which are 174 and 55 times more expensive, respectively, than their generic alternatives. Medical services including prescribing of controlled substances were also found to have been administered to ineligible White House staffers, on an average of six to 20 times a week according to the report. 

“We found that the White House Medical Unit provided a wide range of health care and pharmaceutical services to ineligible White House staff in violation of Federal law and regulation and DoD policy. Additionally, the White House Medical Unit dispensed prescription medications, including controlled substances, to ineligible White House staff,” the report said. “We concluded that all phases of the White House Medical Unit’s pharmacy operations had severe and systemic problems due to the unit’s reliance on ineffective internal controls to ensure compliance with pharmacy safety standards,” the report said.

The Department of Defense report concluded that more stringent and robust policies to prevent such issues in the future, which included establishing stricter controls for how controlled substances are prescribed and distributed as well as establishing stricter controls for who is eligible for White House medical care and who is not.

“We recommend that the Director of the Defense Health Agency, in coordination with the White House Medical Unit Director, develop policy and procedures to manage controlled and non‑controlled medications, including, at a minimum, procurement, storage and inventory, prescribing and dispensing, and disposal,” the report said. “We recommend that the Director of the Defense Health Agency, in coordination with the White House Medical Unit Director, establish controls for White House patient eligibility within the Military Health System.”

The complete report from the Inspector General can be found here. 

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called on lawmakers to legalize medical cannabis, saying the treatment could provide relief to those in the country suffering from the “trauma of war.” 

Zelensky made the comments in an address before his country’s parliament. 

“We must finally fairly legalize cannabis-based medicines for all those who need them, with appropriate scientific research and controlled Ukrainian production,” Zelensky said, as quoted by UPI.

“All the world’s best practices, all the most effective policies, all the solutions, no matter how difficult or unusual they may seem to us, must be applied to Ukraine so that Ukrainians, all our citizens, do not have to endure the pain, stress and trauma of war,” he added, according to the news organization. 

Russia invaded and subsequently occupied parts of Ukraine last year, marking a bloody and costly escalation of the hostilities between the two countries. In April, Reuters, citing a “trove of purported U.S. intelligence documents” that had been published online, estimated that as many as “354,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the Ukraine war.”

As UPI noted, “Zelensky’s support for medical cannabis legalization also remains consistent as evidenced in 2019, during his presidential campaign, when he said it would be ‘normal’ to allow people to access cannabis ‘droplets.’”

Zelensky’s comments on Wednesday also echo what his cabinet has said recently. 

Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Health Minister Viktor Liashko said in a Facebook post that the government had put forward legislation to legalize medical cannabis treatment. In the post, Liashko invoked the ongoing war with Russia as a reason to make the treatment available.

“We understand the negative consequences of the war on the mental health camp,” Liashko wrote in the Facebook post. “We understand the number of people who will require medical treatment in the last breath.”

“Cannabis drugs are not ‘competitors’ to drugs, and measures to regulate their circulation are completely different. Medical cannabis contains cannabidiol, which has no pronounced psychoactive effect, so it’s not suitable for recreational use,“ Liashko continued. “To that, at the same time, we were prepared by the legislator for the preparation of a new cycle of production of preparations based on cannabis in Ukraine: from the development of that processing to full production.”

In the first month of Russia’s invasion last year, a number of cannabis companies in the United States stepped up to provide financial support to Ukraine. 

MediThrive CEO Misha Breyburg donated proceeds from weed sales to a charity providing aid to Ukrainians. Breyburg also had the MediThrive dispensary in San Francisco’s Mission District painted in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine hits home for the founders of MediThrive. CEO Misha Breyburg and his colleagues are Ukrainian Jewish refugees who immigrated from Odessa, Ukraine to the United States as children in the 1970s,” the company said in a statement at the time. “MediThrive believes that everyone should have access to medicine and quality health care. The Medi in our name tells of our humble beginning as a medical cannabis dispensary that filled the cannabis prescriptions of cancer and AIDS patients. In the 1990s, the dispensary opened its doors to patients under the United State’s Compassionate Care Act. We are the oldest cannabis dispensary and delivery service location in San Francisco. Today, we are more than just a medical and recreational cannabis provider; our roots run deep in our community.”

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Hip-hop artist and cannabis community icon Afroman announced over the weekend that he is running for president of the United States in 2024. Afroman, who became a hero of the weed crowd with his song “Because I Got High” in 2000, announced his bid for the White House on Sunday during a concert performance at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, according to a report from TMZ. Two days later, he took to social media to spread his message to a broader audience.

“My Fellow Americans, there comes a time in the course of human events when change must be affected,” Afroman wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. “That time is now. Americans are suffering, and the status quo is no longer acceptable. Inflation is out of control. The economy is in shambles. The housing market is staggering. Politicians are corrupt. Bad apples are allowed to remain in law enforcement, amongst our noble and brave officers.”

“It is my immense honor and pleasure to formally announce Afroman as an independent candidate for President of the United States of America,” he added.

Afroman, aka Joseph Edgar Foreman, was born in Los Angeles in 1974 and got an early start in the music business by recording songs and selling them to his classmates by the time he was in eighth grade. He released his first album in 1998 before relocating to Mississippi, where he made contacts in the music business who would eventually produce and perform on “Because I Got High.” The song, which detailed how marijuana could interfere with the chores of modern life, became a hit in 2001, the year the track was featured in films including Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Afroman released his latest album, Lemon Pound Cake, in September.

Afroman Pledges To Be ‘Cannabis Commander in Chief’

Referring to himself as the “Cannabis Commander in Chief” and the “Pot Head of State” in his social media post, Afroman promised to make cannabis reform and other issues a priority of his campaign for president.

“Medicinal plants are criminalized, while pharmaceutical companies enrich themselves on chemicals with unknown side effects,” he wrote. “The media sows the seeds of hatred 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. They attempt to divide based on race, religion, gender, sexual preference, and every other category that they can think of.”

In a separate post on Instagram, Afroman outlined eight priorities for his 2024 presidential campaign. First and foremost was decriminalizing cannabis and “other substances with low harm profiles.” He noted that federal law still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I substance, the strictest classification under the nation’s drug laws. He promised change, saying he would deschedule and decriminalize cannabis and launch a public service ad campaign to publicize the benefits of the plant.

Afroman also pledged to make criminal justice reforms, noting that more than 40,000 people are incarcerated for cannabis at any given time, at a cost of more than $1.5 billion per year. He committed to commuting the sentences of all nonviolent federal cannabis prisoners and said he would “work hard to right the wrongs of the past, in all areas where Americans have been failed within the criminal justice system.”

He also called for law enforcement reforms, an end to all foreign aid, and reparations for African Americans. Other priorities of the campaign include tax breaks for professional athletes to encourage celebratory displays, the legalization of prostitution, and the “promotion of unity, peace, and love.”

“We need a candidate that is truly elected by the people, and for the people. We need a man that can step up and lead with a firm hand,” wrote Afroman. “The people are starved for a Commander in Chief, that leads from a place of love and not hate. In these dark times, we need a leader that truly embodies the American dream.”

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The Source wanted to give a pre-roll to everyone who voted. Then they realized that was against the law. So they adapted.

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