Drug Arrests Up On Midstate Lakes: TWRA

NASHVILLE, TN — There's been a sharp uptick this summer in drug possession arrests on Middle Tennessee's lakes, particularly on Percy Priest.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, which patrols the lakes, has made more than 20 simple possession arrests on Percy Priest Lake since Memorial Day. Particularly worrisome is that the drugs have moved from marijuana, which historically represents an overwhelming majority of arrests, to cocaine and heroin. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

"We've noticed an influx in people using the drugs out here on the lake," District Boating Officer Josh Landrum told NewsChannel 5. "We notice it every summer but this summer it seems like there have been more than normal."

Landrum told the station he's not sure why there's been such an increase, though he did say he has seized marijuana which was purchased legally in Colorado and California and that perhaps the increased availability of legal weed is having a ripple effect even in states like Tennessee which have yet to legalize marijuana.

(For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)