Spring break overdose cases - including four Cadets from West Point

[bcla]

This is going to be interesting. I wonder if they're going to be expelled. I heard there used to be one-time exceptions for drug use, but even though it was fentanyl that they OD'ed on, they thought they were taking cocaine.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wes...-breakers-overdosed-florida/story?id=83397622​

Four spring breakers who overdosed Thursday night in Wilton Manors, Florida, are cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point public affairs told ABC News Friday.​

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One of the cadets is on the West Point football team, according to the academy, which is located in Orange County, New York.​

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"The U.S. Military Academy is aware of the situation involving West Point cadets, which occurred Thursday night in Wilton Manors, FL," a West Point statement said.​

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[lifesavacation]

I read this in the news I also saw how their two friends that gave them mouth to mouth also had to be treated for fentanyl overdose. It’s scary stuff. My three older boys are EMTs and a paramedic and it’s a pretty typical shift to have to use narcan on someone.

We just had two Portland high schoolers die recently from fentanyl overdoses. https://www.opb.org/article/2022/03...n-24-hours-from-suspected-fentanyl-overdoses/

 

[LuvOrlando]

They were poisoned, so victims of attempted murder and shouldn't be prosecuted or expelled, IMO. Even if they actually used the substances they wanted to use I don't think they should be prosecuted and would rather all that tax money be spend on psych treatment and support.

I don't want things to be this way anymore, it doesn't work & those who die from Fentanyl are not ODing, unless they intended to take Fentanyl they are victims. If people wanted soda and got some other toxin it would be poisoning, this is no different. If they never had cocaine the fact this was their intent is utterly irrelevant, it didn't happen.

--came back to say I don't do anything like this, I know I post funny memes but thats because they are funny, not an indication of my world. I do know of 2 people who were given this stuff, one died and the other was saved by family in their bathroom. Those who give it out need to be prosecuted as murderers.

 

[DLgal]

They were poisoned, so victims of attempted murder and shouldn't be prosecuted or expelled, IMO. Even if they actually used the substances they wanted to use I don't think they should be prosecuted and would rather all that tax money be spend on psych treatment and support.

I don't want things to be this way anymore, it doesn't work & those who die from Fentanyl are not ODing, unless they intended to take Fentanyl they are victims. If people wanted soda and got some other toxin it would be poisoning, this is no different. If they never had cocaine the fact this was their intent is utterly irrelevant, it didn't happen.

--came back to say I don't do anything like this, I know I post funny memes but thats because they are funny, not an indication of my world. I do know of 2 people who were given this stuff, one died and the other was saved by family in their bathroom. Those who give it out need to be prosecuted as murderers.

Are you being serious? Drug use is strictly prohibited when you are a student at a United States Military Academy. There is a zero tolerance policy in the UCMJ. Had they not been "poisoned" they would still be kicked out for the cocaine use.

You don't go to Miami for spring break and buy hard drugs on the street, especially when you are attending a college sponsored by the United States Government. That's asking for trouble. These men are, essentially, in the military. They made a stupid choice. They bought the drugs. No one threw it in their faces.

 

[Sinder]

Doing coke on Spring Break?
I believe the Army has a zero tolerance policy on drug use.
They deserve to be expelled and dishonorly discharged.

 

[DLgal]

Doing coke on Spring Break?
I believe the Army has a zero tolerance policy on drug use.
They deserve to be expelled and dishonorly discharged.

Absolutely. Sorry, but I have no sympathy for any of the men here who willingly bought drugs and ingested them. If it turns out that the 2 friends who ended up with contact poisoning after attempting to help resuscitate the others did NOT take part in the purchase or use of the drugs, they should be allowed to remain in school. They should not simply be lumped in with the others if they are, in fact, innocent victims.

 

[georgina]

A close friends son was expelled from a service academy for not reporting another studemt’s drug use, even though he said he was unaware it had happened. They do have a zero tolerance policy.

 

[TwoMisfits]

And the zero tolerance policy is for a reason. If you can't follow the rules in CONUS and during peacetime, how will you follow the rules of your unit in war time overseas?

I wish the cadets the best, but I'm sure the 4 will be expelled, and if the other 2 knew about the drug use and didn't just happen on the situation, I'd expect they might be expelled, too, although their quick thinking and care for their classmates might mitigate in favor of a lesser punishment vs an expulsion.

 

[DLgal]

And the zero tolerance policy is for a reason. If you can't follow the rules in CONUS and during peacetime, how will you follow the rules of your unit in war time overseas?

It's not even just that. It shows a complete lack of judgment, which is one of the core competencies required to be a military officer. These cadets are in training to be officers, leaders. They are going to be the ones giving the orders. If they can't be trusted to behave responsibly during their free time, they have no right to hold soldier's lives in their hands during wartime.

 

[_19disnA]

It is a sad situation for all involved. Part of the reason illicit drugs are illegal is you just never know what blend you are buying or how they were produced. Amateur chemists in dubious homemade labs produce these drugs in unsanitary conditions. Everyone might have a different reaction to them. Should use it as a learning moment for younger children to understand the inherent dangers involved.

 

[GreatLakes]

I have no sypathy for drug users. I don't care if it is cocaine, heroine, or anything else. I don't want them to OD but getting bad drugs is always a risk when taking drugs. Just don't do it and you don't have to worry about it.

 

[DisneyOma]

I have no sypathy for drug users. I don't care if it is cocaine, heroine, or anything else. I don't want them to OD but getting bad drugs is always a risk when taking drugs. Just don't do it and you don't have to worry about it.

"Just don't do it" doesn't address the addicts who turned to heroin after they got hooked on Oxy, first prescribed from a doctor.

 

[GreatLakes]

"Just don't do it" doesn't address the addicts who turned to heroin after they got hooked on Oxy, first prescribed from a doctor.

Just because your drug dealer was a doctor doesn't make you any less culpable IMO. People should question their doctors, not blindly follow them. But that is for another thread and I'm not going to get dragged into that discussion here

 

[fla4fun]

It’s always sad when people show such bad judgment. They had to know what the consequences of doing cocaine would be as far as school goes, and they should have been aware of the risk of getting bad drugs when buying on the street. If the two had no involvement other than trying to perform CPR, then I hope their futures are not destroyed. As to the other four, well, I would guess they will pay for their bad decisions for many years to come, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Personally, I have never understood the need to do drugs or drink to excess in order to enjoy a vacation. I don’t have anything against having a drink (so long as you’re legal) but spring break seems to cause people to go off the deep end in so many ways. Even when I was prime spring break age, it didn’t make sense to me, and it doesn’t now. It’s so easy to lose everything you’re working for with one bad decision. Authorities are concerned that there may be other people who have also purchased the tainted drugs from the supplier and could suffer a similar overdose. It’s a scary world out there, and often the only one looking out for your best interest is you. Stay safe folks!

 

[dennis99ss]

It is a mistake. Even at the Academies, there are students who either come from a background that is conducive to mistakes, or, notwithstanding their ability to get in, succeed, etc., are susceptible to doing stupid things once in a while. Unfortunately, it is something that will follow these cadets throughout their life. As a parent of a graduate of a US Service Academy, drink is one thing, drugs are another. From what I hear, the full factual circumstances are not yet know/public. Apparently, there are reports that one cadet was in contact via text message with the man who has been arrested, and the drugs purchased during the arrest can be connected with the drugs at the scene. That being said, it appears that one cadet may have willfully went out to purchase/use etc. We do not know about the others. There are reports that two attempted CPR. We do know fentanyl is bad sh!%. Breathing even a small amount can cause OD. That is very well what might have occurred here. Unfortunately, those possible non-users appear to have suffered cardiac arrest. Narcan was used. Some were on a ventilator. Unfortunately, even if some of the cadets did not use, the fact that they suffered cardiac arrest and/or were on a ventilator will, in about a 99% probability, disqualify them from continued service and result in their release from the Academy.