US intelligence is reportedly investigating cocaine in the White House

The White House gives new meaning to its name. A white substance found at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has reportedly tested positive for cocaine, according to a preliminary field test, reports The Guardian. From fast food chain restrooms to children’s bedrooms over Christmas, the infamous “white powder” (and we’re not talking snow here) pops up frequently where authorities, be it the federal government or someone’s parents, are concerned make fun of it. This time it ended up in the Executive Mansion.

The US Secret Service is investigating how the drugs got into the President’s house. Mind you, although Biden may be open-minded about psychedelic research before you start rumours: the alleged cocaine was found in a reference library “in a tour group-accessible area, not in a specific office in the West Wing,” according to Associated Press reports. So it’s more likely that a tourist cocky (or stupid) enough to make a comment at the White House is to blame, rather than someone in the federal government.

The substance’s discovery prompted a heightened security alert and a brief evacuation of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue after authorities discovered it during a routine inspection. At the time of the discovery, President Joe Joe Biden was at Camp David, a presidential country retreat tucked away in the woods of Maryland. President and First Lady Jill Biden returned to the White House Tuesday morning shortly after the discovery.

A Secret Service spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, told the Washington Post that “an investigation is underway into how and why the substance got into the White House.” Authorities note that it was not a threat. Another official familiar with the investigation said the quantity found was of low quality. Therefore, anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of drug use can conclude that the alleged cocaine was for personal use and not for distribution. This lends credibility to the explanation that a tourist probably thought it would be cool (but dangerous) to draw some white lines in the White House.

If so, it certainly isn’t the first time a civilian has used a visit to the White House as an opportunity to get high. British actor Erkan Mustafa said he did cocaine and smoked some cannabis while visiting the president’s resident during First Lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign, reports The Guardian. Noting that until the Reagan presidency, the war on drugs was generally only a minor part of federal law enforcement efforts, fueled in part by Nancy’s “Just Say No” campaign, which was a privately funded effort, to educate kids about the dangers of drug use, It’s hard to be mad at Mustafa for seeking the thrill of drug use back in the White House (but please don’t try it yourself, we don’t want to jail you). The government has enough people incarcerated for drugs; After Reagan took office in 1981, his focus on drug sentences led to an increase in incarcerations for nonviolent drug offenses, from 50,000 in 1980 to 400,000 in 1997.

Famous stoner Snoop Dogg said he smoked weed in a bathroom in 2013, and his famous cannabis enthusiast Willie Nelson smoked a joint on the White House rooftop during Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

Late last year, Biden announced he would be pardoning those with federal convictions for simple cannabis possession. He also directed General Merrick B. Garland and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra to begin reviewing the classification of cannabis at the federal level. As a reminder, according to the Fed, the government agency linked to the White House, cocaine is a Schedule II drug, while cannabis is still a Schedule I drug. That said, despite what we know about the benefits of marijuana, under federal law it’s a drug more dangerous than white lines.