West Point Drug Scandal

[Marauder06]

Posting the link without comment so as not to influence any potential discussion. Here's the headline:

A West Point football player got hooked on pain pills. Now he owes the government $300K.

A West Point football player got hooked on pain pills. Now he owes the U.S. $300K.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

This is so freeking awesome!!!

Not the story, that's a terrible situation no matter what. I'm just happy to have something new to read about other than 'virus' shit.

 

[SpitfireV]

So he's:

-Self prescribed himself pain medication
-Got himself addicted
-Knowingly helped the distribution of drugs
-Admitted to it to avoid a military trial.

I'm not sure what his problem is here. Other than being someone that didn't ask for help from the military.

That said, would you guys in the military agree with this quote?

“They look at soldiers with substance abuse problems as damaged goods,” he said. “Like they’re subhuman and we don’t want to deal with them anymore.”

 

[Cookie_]

So he's:

-Self prescribed himself pain medication
-Got himself addicted
-Knowingly helped the distribution of drugs
-Admitted to it to avoid a military trial.

I'm not sure what his problem is here. Other than being someone that didn't ask for help from the military.

That said, would you guys in the military agree with this quote?

He didn't self-prescribe himself percocet and he didn't "get himself addicted". These are drugs with a high rate of addiction, especially in people who experience chronic pain. The article isn't clear on whether there was some sort of follow-up after the initial batch of pills was given to him.

As to your question; it greatly depends on the command, but overall I'd say it's not an untrue statement.

A soldier who self reports for a substance abuse issue could still wind up getting chaptered from the military anyways, albeit without a negative discharge.
Furthermore, the mindset in the military plays a big part in not getting help. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with soldiers (Jr and Sr to me) similar to this cadet's reason for not getting help.

Rogers knew he had a problem, but said he was reluctant to seek help. “I didn’t know how to talk about it. I didn’t know how to get help about it,” Rogers said. “Because in the military, it’s frowned upon to have a mental illness.”

There was also something else going on: Rogers was ashamed. “I was the company commander,” he said. “Everybody looked up to me, and here I am addicted to pain pills.”

 

[SpitfireV]

If he continued on he has self prescribed IMO.

 

[Stretcher Jockey]

@SpitfireV disagree with the sentiment behind that. Addiction can be an overwhelming force, and while there are a ton of resources to help, I dont think it's the same as "self-prescribing" medication.

 

[AWP]

Send him to rehab then boot his ass.