MUMPOWER SAYS WOLFE 'SMELLED LIKE AN AMSTERDAM HASH BAR'

ASHEVILLE - City Councilman Carl Mumpower in an e-mail to City Manager
Gary Jackson shared some of his observations of drug activity during
the Bob Weir and Ratdog show Friday night at the Thomas Wolfe
Auditorium. Mumpower was granted free access to the concert for
observation purposes. Here is Mumpower's letter:

Gary, I went to the civic center this evening and spent about 15 minutes
inside with the intention of observing the reported drug activity that
occurs at some concert events. I wanted to share my brief observations.

1) Thomas Wolfe auditorium smelled like an Amsterdam hash bar.

2) In the bathroom, I observed a gentleman purchase pills and ingest same
from another gentleman with a T-shirt that said something like, "I play for
mushrooms."

3) I observed one person in the back balcony smoking a joint and a
group of people sharing a joint on the left side of the auditorium.

4) The music "Ratdog" was good.

5) When I arrived at the civic center there were 6-8 officers standing
in the front of the building. Most were in uniform.

I would appreciate the opportunity to sit down with to discuss drug
enforcement policies for Civic Center events.

Thank you

Carl Mumpower