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Naval Academy busts seven midshipmen for ‘spice’ drug

Laura Donovan Contributor
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Seven U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen have been expelled for using or possessing “spice,” a drug similar to marijuana that has yet to hit most college campuses, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

The penalized midshipmen were “separated” from the Academy on Jan. 20 for breaching the Navy’s zero-tolerance policies. The Academy conducts random urine drug tests, but spice goes undetected on these tests, and perhaps that explains why it’s had a presence in the brigade.

The seven midshipmen were expelled three months after investigators obtained a notebook page that suggests at least one midshipman had mapped a layout for a spice drug ring, the Navy Times reported Tuesday.

The notebook page includes the first names or nicknames of 18 “people who have done it (or would again),” and “people in on $,” among other things and drug ring specifications.

According to academy spokesman Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, other students confronted brigade leaders in the fall with allegations against the seven midshipmen. The expelled midshipmen could face discharge from the Navy and perhaps have to repay the government for the cost of their education.

“We have evidence that some of the activity was occurring in the dorm [on the academy campus],” Carpenter said. Midshipmen live on campus grounds and are not permitted to live off base, the Navy Times reported.

The Academy did not identify the expelled midshipmen but did reveal that they were sophomore and junior males.

Drug violations are few and far between at the Academy. Of 4,000 students, only four other students besides the expelled midshipmen have been cited for offenses in the past year.