Story thread · 2 reports / 1 sources

DHS chief maintains stake in company despite founder's 'abuse' admission

rawstory.com · 15dShare

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin maintains an investment of up to $1 million in Botanic Tonics, a company manufacturing Feel Free energy drinks. Feel Free is widely known as "gas station heroin" due to its addictive properties, reports Punch Up . The company's founder, J.W. Ross, a convicted felon who has admitted deliberately testing abusive dosages before launching the product, said he knew people would abuse it. Feel Free combines kratom and kava, plant-based compounds that act on the brain's opioid receptors, exploiting neurological pathways that make opioids addictive. "In February 2010, Cash pleaded guilty to a federal charge of falsely certifying the company’s financial controls. That November, U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot sentenced him to nine years in federal prison and ordered him to repay $5 million, rebuking him,” according to the FBI’s account of the hearing. Notably, Mullin championed a federal crackdown in July that specifically spared Feel

First report: Trump DHS head hanging on to 'gas station heroin' investment despite 'abuse' admission — rawstory.com, 15d