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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Wilfred Chan

Cocaine in the White House: a brief history

Franklin Roosevelt at microphone
Franklin Roosevelt may have been given cocaine as a topical anesthetic. Photograph: Underwood Archives/Getty Images

Cocaine in the White House? Chances are it’s not the first time – and the drug could well have been used by at least one past president, according to a leading presidential historian.

Lab tests confirmed that a white substance found inside the building on Sunday was indeed cocaine, the Secret Service told reporters. The discovery, on the floor near an entrance to the West Wing that’s commonly used by tour groups, led to a security alert and a brief evacuation of the executive mansion. Authorities are working to figure out who brought the drug into the building. (At the time, Joe Biden and his family were at Camp David in Maryland.)

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