'All right, who wants to go to sleep?': How 'Candy Man' Dr. Ronny Jackson walked jet aisles on overseas trips dispensing Ambien to weary travelers – and Provigil to pick them up
Veterans Affairs nominee came under fire Tuesday for a number of allegations
Among them was that he dispensed medicine on overseas trips with the presidential entourage
Sen. Jon Tester said Jackson would walk airplane aisles to 'hand out prescription drugs'
He dispensed Ambien to help travelers sleep and adjust to time changes
Provigil, a stimulant, would be used to help rouse them
'These are called controlled substances for a reason,' Tester said
The White House is defending Jackson, saying opponents are trying to railroad his nomination
By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.s. Political Editor For Dailymail.com
Published: 11:05 EDT, 25 April 2018 | Updated: 12:05 EDT, 25 April 2018
President Trump's pick to run the Veterans Affairs department opened up his medical bag to knock out – and then pick up – jet-lagged travelers on presidential trips, a Democratic senator revealed.
The informal drug dispensing is what earned Jackson, the White House doctor and president's personal physician, the sobriquet of 'Candy Man,' said Sen. John Tester, a Nevada Democrat.
He said he got the information from current and former military officials who spoke to the committee overseeing Jackson's nomination.
Although the drugs he handed out were not addictive opioids that have come under considerably government scrutiny, they were over-the-counter medications that should only be given with a prescription.
'These are called controlled substances for a reason,' Tester told CNN Tuesday night.
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