Four Wesleyan Students Arrested Following Campus Molly Overdoses
UPDATE: As spotted by Paste, One of the four students arrested in connection with the campus overdoses is the founder of Wesleyan’s Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
Four Wesleyan University students have been arrested following the overdoses of 11 people last weekend, when a “bad batch” of party drug Molly (or MDMA) circulated around the Middletown, Connecticut campus. According to the Hartford Courant, police issued four search-and-seizure warrants on Tuesday, with Chief William McKenna confirming that four students were in custody by 8 p.m. local time.
As of Monday, four individuals remained hospitalized: two in serious condition and two in critical condition. McKenna confirmed on Tuesday that two of the students were still being treated at Hartford Hospital, with one in “very critical condition.” The others were released. “This particular batch may have had a mixture of several different kinds of designer drugs,” McKenna said of the MDMA.
The arrested students are Eric Lonergan, 21; Andrew Olson, 20; Zachary Kramer, 21; and Rama Agha Al Nakib, 20. Their individual charges vary, ranging from possession of a hallucinogen to possession of a controlled substance to possession of drug paraphernalia. Police didn’t specify what specific connection the four had to the overdoses.
The university has “immediately suspended the students pending a formal hearing,” noted Wesley President Michael Roth in a statement Tuesday night. “We take very seriously allegations concerning the distribution of dangerous drugs, and the university will continue to cooperate with state and local officials,” Roth said. “We will do everything we can to make our community as safe as possible.”
Twelve individuals – 10 students and two visitors – were hospitalized on Sunday, with one related to alcohol use. Wesleyan spokeswoman Lauren Rubenstein confirmed that “some” but not all of the students who sought medical help attended a rave at the college’s Eclectic Society social house that featured New York DJ act Swim Team. “It’s still under investigation,” she said. “There’s no firm evidence that it was centered at Eclectic. . . They are investigating all parts of the campus.”
“One mistake can change your life forever,” Roth said on Monday. “If you have friends who are thinking about trying these kinds of drugs, remind them of the dangers. . . These drugs can be altered in ways that make them all the more toxic. Take a stand to protect your fellow students.”