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.''