Pubdate: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 Source: Tennessean, The (TN) Copyright: 2003 The Tennessean Contact: http://www.tennessean.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/447 Author: Kelli Samantha Hewett CONCERT DRUG USE BRINGS FEW ARRESTS Concerts have been a magnet for smoking marijuana since the '60s, but in a summer in which the smoke has hung heavy over some outdoor concerts, law enforcement officials say there's just not much more they can do. Balancing safety and manpower issues is a chief concern for the officers working the shows, even if some concertgoers are tired of smelling smoke. ''As long as it's illegal, I think they should do something about it,'' concertgoer Kristen Fentress of Bellevue said. Heavy drug use has raised eyebrows at several recent Nashville-area music shows. Those include rocker Tom Petty and the ''Rock the Mic'' tour stop, with rap artists Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and 50 Cent. Dogg and Rhymes even told the audience they were smoking pot during that show. Petty and Rock the Mic were at AmSouth Amphitheatre, near Antioch. ''The majority of the people around in the lawn were smoking marijuana,'' said Rock the Mic concertgoer Marshall Riley of Murfreesboro. ''It seems they weren't really strict about it.'' Drug use is often more common in AmSouth's general admission ''lawn'' seats, the grassy area behind the reserved seats. Tennessean staff members attending the Petty and Rock the Mic shows reported heavy marijuana use. ''The smell of pot smoke was thick'' Aug. 11 at Rock the Mic, Tennessean staff writer A. Tacuma Roeback said. At Petty's show, Tennessean staff writer Sameh Fahmy reported, ''the lawn area to the left of the stage smelled like a college dorm room, with the smell of marijuana wafting up every few songs.'' Deputy Managing Editor Laurie Holloway counted 14 people smoking pot in one small area of the lawn during Petty's concert. But policing significant illegal drug and alcohol use at outdoor music events is pretty much impossible, law enforcement officials say. In an era of terrorist threats, weapons problems and worries over violence, law enforcement officials don't expect to snuff out illegal activities at outdoor shows. ''It's frustrating and it's a challenge, but we continue to try and address it,'' said Deborah Faulkner, acting chief of the Metro Police Department. ''I think (AmSouth Amphitheatre) is very law-abiding, but unfortunately some of the people who come in are not.'' Metro police reports and citation records show 24 people charged with drugs, alcohol and fighting so far for the 2003 AmSouth concert season. Rock the Mic was by far the year's most active for law enforcement. Twelve arrests or citations were issued for fighting, drug use or underage drinking, according to records provided by Metro police. Second was the May 30 ZZ Top performance, with four people arrested or cited. The Aug. 16 Petty show had one arrest, for fighting. That handful of arrests and citations are made among crowds that can exceed 15,000. Faulkner said officers don't ignore drug violations, but a critical issue with any large crowd is preventing more serious problems, such as riots, during drug or alcohol arrests. And unlike public events such as downtown July 4th concerts, private venues hire a limited number of officers for each show. Police work hard to maintain a balance, Faulkner said. ''You really have to be strategic in how you handle it,'' she said. Veteran Metro police Officer Bill Fleming, who has worked off-duty concert security for about 30 years, says concert drug enforcement can be tricky. ''We are not looking for it,'' he said. ''I'm not saying if I didn't see it I wouldn't do something about it, (but) part of it is, we don't want to start a riot.'' Fleming said he worked a Nashville-area concert several decades ago where an attempted drug arrest of two people sparked a riot and required heavy police backup to restore order. ''I can't speak for everyone, but our main thing is crowd control,'' he said. Other agencies echo the concerns of safety, crowd control and policing drugs and alcohol. ''First and foremost is the security of my agents,'' said Danielle Elks, executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission, which patrols outdoor concerts for both alcohol and drug violations. ''I'm not going to have one agent try to arrest 30 people - that can't happen.'' At concerts, ABC agents work in connection with Metro police officers. And at many concerts, a handful of Metro officers are on duty to escort performing artists. Most uniformed officers are working off-duty at concerts and respond to the requests of the private, so-called ''T-shirt security'' at each venue. Those police officers work for the venues and are often posted to high-activity areas such as gates, parking lots and concession areas, not walking through the audience areas. Clear Channel Entertainment, which owns AmSouth Amphitheatre and promotes concerts there, refused repeated Tennessean requests to discuss its drug enforcement practices and the assignment locations of police officers. Amphitheatre spokeswoman Megan Wilson issued a one-paragraph response that said, in part, ''We do not condone the use of drugs at this venue or at any other Clear Channel venue. The AmSouth Amphitheatre prepares and implements security and safety arrangements for each event in conjunction with police, artists, contractors and our staff.'' AmSouth Bank, which pays to put its name on the venue, has no direct involvement with security issues or other daily operations. The company's sponsorship will end this season for business reasons not involving security or illegal activity. Elks said AmSouth has been ''very cooperative'' in dealing with the ABC on enforcement issues. An average of four or five ABC agents, usually paired for safety, work crowds of thousands. During a four-hour concert, each arrest report or citation can take up to an hour for officers to finish. ''We will arrest the people we see'' drinking or doing drugs illegally, Elks said. ''Will we get everyone? No, I don't have the manpower.'' She said she is proud of the job her agents do in partnership with off-duty Metro police, given their staffing and crowd numbers. Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said the arrest records confirm that officers are doing their jobs. Police also set up ''sobriety roadblocks'' after selected ''high-traffic'' concerts at AmSouth, Aaron said. Recent roadblocks were set up on major roads near AmSouth after the Jimmy Buffett, Pearl Jam and Rock the Mic concerts. Some concertgoers also have mentioned noticeable pot use at other outdoor venues, such as funk icon George Clinton's show Aug. 14 at Dancin' in the District, and that of the psychedelic band The Flaming Lips at the Uptown Mix series Aug. 6. Those venues include just a few enforcement incidents this summer season, according to police records, and are considered to be low-problem events. Some music fans say they expect to see some drug use at concerts, especially with certain acts. ''I definitely saw some stoners and a few joints at (George Clinton's) Parliament/Funkadelic,'' said Josh Schultz of Nashville. ''But it's Parliament/Funkadelic, so what do you expect?'' Retired Metro police officer Loyd Poteete has supervised security for Dancin' in the District since the 1990s. Last year, the event was moved from the streets of downtown Nashville to the more easily controlled Coliseum, just across the Cumberland River. ''I think we have a pretty good event here and police it well,'' Poteete said. ''You have a certain amount of tolerance. We are strict, but we try to be fair.'' Uptown Mix spokeswoman Tracy Ray declined to answer specific questions about security there. Concertgoer Blaine Ray of Nashville, who saw The Flaming Lips show, said he doesn't think any of the current drug enforcement practices at concerts will cut the drug use. ''I think it's just accepted that if you attend (most any) concert, you'll be around people who are smoking pot,'' Ray said. ''I've never felt like I was in harm's way because I was near someone who was smoking marijuana.'' - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens