CWU Students Drugged At Party Return To School
ELLENSBURG - It was back to school but certainly not back to normal for Central Washington University. The school landed in the national spotlight for a wild party with people passed out and vomiting. And at least a dozen students landed in the hospital as well. Police still suspect their drinks were spiked. Now the school is running its own investigation.
" I think anytime something like this happens you're surprised," said Linda Schactler, CWU Public Affairs.
Surprised or not, CWU officials aren't wasting any time initiating their own investigation of the party. When police got to the home in Roslyn, they found about 50 underage students drinking. Some students ran away, but several others had passed out from alcohol and possible drug use. The school will meet with each of those students to hear their side of the story. Campus police will file their own police report, but the school is also working with Ellensburg law enforcement on the case.
Schactler said, " We will wait for specific information from them before we start any process with our students."
And that could take months. Schactler says the toxicology report could take 6 to 8 weeks at least, " We'll find out from them what role they played, if any, then take appropriate action."
Students we talked to on campus said they've seen postings all over Facebook about the party, saying they can't believe something like this could happen. Though one student did tell us a friend of his was drugged with either a roofie or GHB, another date rape drug, last year and had to be taken to the hospital. So they know the drugs are out there, and they say they're watching their drinks more than ever now.
This investigation is far from over, so the school isn't saying what kind of punishment the students could face, if any. But Central Washington University wants to be clear, drug use and drinking underage are against school policy, whether it's on or off campus. Which could mean the fallout from this party could continue.
At this point police don't know how the drugs got to the party and have not been able to find any sign of the roofies at the home. But they tell us they do know something was in the pre-mixed drinks, based on how intoxicated the victims were.
Turns out "roofies" may be making a comeback on the college scene. The drug, Rohypnal, is illegal in the U.S., but can still be found in Mexico and Canada.
An E-R Doctor at Regional says he's seen a handful of likely cases in the last few months. The drug can stay in your body for up to 12 hours. And can be even more dangerous if mixed with alcohol.
" Sedation, dizziness, drowsiness, retrograde amnesia. Which means that you forget things that are happening within 15 to 20 minutes of taking the medicine. And that can last a few hours," said Hospitalist, Mark Silverstein with Yakima Regional.
Rohypnal is about ten times stronger than Valium. And it's not the only thing considered a "date rape drug". GHB cases are also still being seen in the ER.
" I think anytime something like this happens you're surprised," said Linda Schactler, CWU Public Affairs.
Surprised or not, CWU officials aren't wasting any time initiating their own investigation of the party. When police got to the home in Roslyn, they found about 50 underage students drinking. Some students ran away, but several others had passed out from alcohol and possible drug use. The school will meet with each of those students to hear their side of the story. Campus police will file their own police report, but the school is also working with Ellensburg law enforcement on the case.
Schactler said, " We will wait for specific information from them before we start any process with our students."
And that could take months. Schactler says the toxicology report could take 6 to 8 weeks at least, " We'll find out from them what role they played, if any, then take appropriate action."
Students we talked to on campus said they've seen postings all over Facebook about the party, saying they can't believe something like this could happen. Though one student did tell us a friend of his was drugged with either a roofie or GHB, another date rape drug, last year and had to be taken to the hospital. So they know the drugs are out there, and they say they're watching their drinks more than ever now.
This investigation is far from over, so the school isn't saying what kind of punishment the students could face, if any. But Central Washington University wants to be clear, drug use and drinking underage are against school policy, whether it's on or off campus. Which could mean the fallout from this party could continue.
At this point police don't know how the drugs got to the party and have not been able to find any sign of the roofies at the home. But they tell us they do know something was in the pre-mixed drinks, based on how intoxicated the victims were.
Turns out "roofies" may be making a comeback on the college scene. The drug, Rohypnal, is illegal in the U.S., but can still be found in Mexico and Canada.
An E-R Doctor at Regional says he's seen a handful of likely cases in the last few months. The drug can stay in your body for up to 12 hours. And can be even more dangerous if mixed with alcohol.
" Sedation, dizziness, drowsiness, retrograde amnesia. Which means that you forget things that are happening within 15 to 20 minutes of taking the medicine. And that can last a few hours," said Hospitalist, Mark Silverstein with Yakima Regional.
Rohypnal is about ten times stronger than Valium. And it's not the only thing considered a "date rape drug". GHB cases are also still being seen in the ER.
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