The Trump White House is typically game to spin any narrative lobbed its way, but reports about Elon Musk’s rampant drug use appear to be another story.
Following The New York Times’ shocking report that Musk, while acting as a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, was regularly consuming large amounts of drugs, reporter Megan Twohey appeared on MSNBC to discuss the story. In the process, she revealed that the White House had refused to answer questions put to them about whether or not they had administered drug tests to Musk during his tenure.
Musk’s SpaceX similarly did not respond to questions from the Times, specifically about whether the company gave Musk advance notice of the “random” drug tests it administers to its employees, something it reportedly began doing after he infamously smoked weed during his appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast. SpaceX, as a large government contractor, is required to maintain a drug-free workforce.
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As Twohey explains, what both of these things—the White House’s refusal to answer questions, and reports that SpaceX was giving Musk a heads up on drug tests, allowing him to mediate his drug use accordingly—highlight is that there “hasn’t been any sort of scrutiny or true monitoring or testing” of Musk, even as his drug use reportedly became harder to ignore.
Twohey also explained to anchor Nicolle Wallace exactly what ketamine is, in response to the Times’ claim that Musk was using it so frequently it was beginning to affect his bladder.
As Twohey explains, ketamine is a powerful anesthetic that is used in medical procedures and by some doctors for psychiatric treatment, but is also becoming increasingly popular as a recreational drug in Silicon Valley.
The bladder issues associated with chronic use of ketamine include issues of bladder pain and issues with bladder control, something the FDA has warned patients and health care practitioners about in the past.
According to the Times, Musk carried a box of narcotics around on the campaign trail that included Adderall, a potent stimulant used to treat ADHD. In addition to Adderall and ketamine—the latter of which Musk claims he uses to treat depression—he reportedly also took ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms at private gatherings both in the U.S. and in at least one foreign country. According to the Times’ report, by the time Musk had endorsed Trump for president, he was using ketamine on a daily basis.
