United States v. Lancaster

OPINION OF THE COURT

JOHNSON, Judge:

This started out as a case about a nurse charged with stealing controlled drugs from her duty section in a hospital ward and using them. The instructions of the military judge and the findings of the members changed it into a case about whether it is conduct punishable under Article 112a, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 912a, for a military member to use a controlled prescription drug for an ailment other than the one for which the drug was prescribed. We hold that such use is not punishable under the UCMJ, and we set aside the findings of guilty.

Captain Lancaster was…