Talk about live fire training — a Canadian bombardier faces 18 charges for allegedly serving marijuana-laced cupcakes to her artillery unit in 2018 while working at the canteen.
The soldier, Chelsea Cogswell, will stand trial after reports that she fed the tasty treats to W Battery at the Royal Canadian Artillery School on July 21, 2018, in New Brunswick, Canada, in advance of live fire training according to court documents.
Those documents add that nearly every soldier who ingested one of Cogswell’s cupcakes got baked, essentially. They experienced dry mouth, confusion, paranoia and fatigue — all classic symptoms of being stoned. They were also unable to properly handle equipment, in particular, “safe weapons and explosive handling drills.”
“All the members of W Battery who consumed the cupcakes, except one, allegedly experienced symptoms which included dehydration, overheating, fatigue, confusion, dry mouth and paranoia,” the court records read. “That afternoon, the affected members were treated by a medical technician and the military police were called.”
The Office of the Judge Advocate General reported that the incident marks the first time a Canadian Armed Forces member has been charged with administering marijuana to colleagues without their consent, according to CTV News.
“A review of our court martial records indicate that this is the first time a member has faced a court martial for allegedly administering cannabis to colleagues without their consent,” spokesperson Wendy Wharton told CTV News.
Cogswell remains in the Canadian Armed Forces, and is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The court martial is scheduled to begin in New Brunswick in August.
Sarah Sicard is a Senior Editor with Military Times. She previously served as the Digitial Editor of Military Times and the Army Times Editor. Other work can be found at National Defense Magazine, Task & Purpose, and Defense News.
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