There’s an old maxim in journalism: When a dog bites a man, that’s not news; but when a man bites a dog, that is news. But sometimes even the most obvious dog-bites-man story cannot be ignored. Like this gem coming out of Noblesville, Indiana, outside Indianapolis: Drug arrests at Phish concerts.
On Monday, the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued a statement on Facebook announcing the arrests, as well as the seizure of copious amounts of drugs over the course of Phish’s three shows at the Ruoff Music Center. Again, this would be pretty unremarkable stuff in and of itself, were it not for the aghast tone of the statement itself, particularly this line: “Frankly, we are disappointed in the number of people who showed up to engage in illicit behavior.”
Officers reportedly seized “significant quantities” of the usual suspect drugs: shrooms, acid, weed, MDMA, and (of course) nitrous oxide. But they also claimed to have found methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.
Police wound up arresting five individuals for “major-felony level drug dealing and/or possession offenses.” And they allegedly identified several people with outstanding warrants, “including an individual with an out-of-state warrant for failure to register as a sex offender.”
The prosecutor’s office continued, “While the vast majority of concertgoers aren’t dealing drugs and endangering the safety of others, officers will find and hold accountable those who are. Law enforcement will not tolerate the wrongdoers who threaten the safety and enjoyment of those who just want to enjoy the show.”
As one can imagine, the majority of the comments left on the Facebook post weren’t exactly supportive. Some called out the statement for making sweeping generalizations about Phish fans, especially when most of the crowd was all kind vibes. Others pointed out the selective nature of making a big statement about arrests at a Phish concert, while most other shows go unremarked upon. And others just simply pointed to the “well duh” nature of finding recreational drugs at a Phish show — like, you know, shooting fish in a… well, you get the idea.
As for Phish, a rep for the band did not immediately return a request for comment.
