--- title: "Government Cleaners Find Nasty-Looking Brickweed After DOGE Leaves Building" description: "Cleaners found marijuana at the Institute of Peace that was \"apparently thrown out by DOGE staffers\" after they left the building." date: "2025-06-04" modified: "2025-06-04" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/government-cleaners-brickweed-doge" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "doge" - "elon musk" - "marijuana" - "white house" --- # Government Cleaners Find Nasty-Looking Brickweed After DOGE Leaves Building ![Cleaners found marijuana at the Institute of Peace that was "apparently thrown out by DOGE staffers" after they left the building.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Following his departure from the White House, billionaire Elon Musk's legacy as the unofficial head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency is marked by [unprofessional chaos](), a [litany of lawsuits](), and a [collapse of international aid]() that left children to [die in the streets](). His ragtag group of teens and 20-somethings, most of whom were severely underqualified to pick apart agency budgets, let alone access highly sensitive information, has left swathes of the federal government in ruins. And what exactly they were doing behind the scenes, besides [infiltrating classified networks]() and unjustly [cutting people off from social security](), remains pretty hazy — in a very literal way. As [*The Economist* reports](), cleaners found marijuana at the think tank United States Institute of Peace that was "apparently thrown out by DOGE staffers" after they left the building. An [image]() shared by reporter Daniel Knowles shows a pair of gloved hands holding sizable nugs of the plant, strongly suggesting that the operation's agents were getting high in the workplace. It certainly wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary, given the track record of many DOGE operatives. Who could forget 19-year-old high school grad Edward Coristine, better known by his online moniker "Big Balls," who was previously [fired from an internship]() after leaking sensitive data to a competitor? Then there was Marko Elez, a 25-year-old staffer, who [resigned from his position]() — but was [later rehired]() — after it was revealed he'd spread incredibly racist rhetoric on social media. Just as shamefully, the schwag itself looks like low-quality brickweed, with one *New York Times* reporter [dismissing it]() as "sand, bro." "Go after your dealer for fraud, waste and abuse," another user [quipped](), with another [characterizing it]() as "possibly the worst weed i've EVER seen." In short, it's exactly the kind of clown show you'd expect to bring pot to the office. While the substance was decriminalized in Washington, DC, it [remains a crime under federal law]() to possess more than two ounces of marijuana or consume it in public spaces. (It's unclear how much weed the cleaners found.) Besides, their boss has a [lengthy track record of indulging]() in both legal and illegal drugs, from a [well-documented ketamine habit]() to consuming party drugs like [LSD and magic mushrooms]() at social gatherings. To be clear, there's nothing wrong with smoking a little pot — but bringing it to the workplace is incredibly unprofessional, underlining the kind of conduct you'd expect from Musk's DOGE boys. Case in point, in April, a senior DOGE figure reportedly [screamed at staff]() and forced them to work for 36 hours without rest. Besides clearing a regulatory path for the world's richest man in the world, the culmination of the DOGE operatives' efforts in Washington, leaves far more questions than answers. While DOGE's website boasts that it has saved an "estimated" $180 billion — a tally that's previously been [found to be riddled with errors]() — critics say DOGE has been a dismal failure, [falling well short of the $2 trillion]() Musk once promised to cut. Fraud, which has long been a target for Musk and his operatives, has yet to be rooted out to any meaningful degree. Worst of all, DOGE isn't going anywhere soon. As [*Wired* reports](), Coristine and several other operatives have signed on to become full-time employees, allowing them to blow past the 130-day limit that was previously imposed on them as "special government employees." As for what other types of contraband cleaners will find while picking up after them? We can't even imagine. **More on DOGE:** *["Disgusting Abomination": Cold War Between Musk and Trump Explodes Into Public]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()