Generally speaking, drug testing in the workplace is supposed to be conductd at random intervals — but according to insider sources, that's not the case for the sometimes-world's richest man.
A New York Times exposé about Elon Musk's fear and loathing on the campaign trail found that the billionaire not only has been on boatloads of risky and illegal drugs during his turn into hard-right politics, but was also being tipped off about when he'd be tested for them.
As we've long known, SpaceX's federal contractor status requires that all its employees — including its mercurial CEO — pass drug tests. Given Musk's admitted penchant for mind-altering substances, and for ketamine in particular, his ability to pass those tests has long been a concern.
If the NYT's sources are to be believed, we may now know how the 53-year-old keeps passing: because he's been warned in advance when the "random" tests are going to occur, and been able to plan accordingly.
(Though those sources didn't get into it, anyone who's ever had to pass a drug test themselves knows that there are typicaly two options: drink so much water that you pee all the drugs out of your system, or get urine or hair from someone else and pass it off as your own.)
As those same sources allege, Musk's substance use increased significantly as he helped propel Donald Trump to the White House for a second time. He purportedly told people that his bladder had been affected by his frequent ketamine use, and had been taking ecstasy and psilocybin mushrooms too.
The multi-hyphenate businessman and politico also carried around a daily medication box with at least 20 pills in it — including ones with markings that resemble the ADHD drug Adderall, according to people who saw photos of it and regaled it back to the NYT. (He's also been linked to cocaine and a cornucopia of other substances.)
When it comes to stimulants like Adderall and anything else in Musk's daily pill box — which, despite how the article makes it sound, is not that abnormal a thing for a man in his 50s to be carrying around — there's a good chance that the billionaire has prescriptions that could excuse at least some abuse. He also has claimed that he was prescribed ketamine for depression, though to be fair, taking so much that it makes it hard to pee would suggest he's far surpassed his recommended dosage.
As Futurism has noted before, Musk's drugs of choice described here are not often screened for on standard drug panels. Though we don't know how in-depth federal drug tests are, standard tests primarily screen for cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines, opiates, and PCP, though some include ecstasy/MDMA as well. Testing for ketamine is, on the other hand, pretty rare.
If Musk is being tipped off about his drug tests — and is either flushing his system or taking a sober underling's urine or hair — none of that would matter. But given that the worst of his purported substance abuse revolves around ketamine, there's always a chance that he's in a recurring K-hole and getting off scot-free, unlike his employees, who are held to a much higher standard.
More on Musk's drug use: Ex-FBI Agent: Elon Musk's Drug Habit Made Him an Easy Target for Russian Spies
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