5 midshipmen at Naval Academy face discipline for drug use

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Authorities at the U.S. Naval Academy have started a disciplinary process against five midshipmen for drug use and failure to report others’ illegal conduct.

Academy spokesman Cmdr. David McKinney says the illicit drugs in question are cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and hallucinogenic mushrooms.

McKinney said in a Monday statement that administrative discipline could include demerits and loss of privileges for the midshipmen. The ongoing investigation could also result in courts-martial.

McKinney says the academy and the U.S. Navy have a “zero tolerance policy when it comes to the use of illegal substances.”

The investigation into recreational drug use at the academy includes the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

The Naval Academy in Annapolis was founded in 1845.