AGENTS ARREST 200 IN 3-DAY ROCK CONCERT DRUG CRACKDOWN

PELHAM (Associated Press) About 200 people were arrested on drug charges
during a three-night undercover crackdown at a rock concert in which one
person died of an apparent overdose.

About half of the arrests at the outdoor show of the band Widespread Panic
were felony drug cases. The rest involved misdemeanor drug and underage
drinking charges.

The crackdown, called Operation Don't Panic, was conducted Friday, Saturday
and Sunday nights at the Oak Mountain Amphitheatre by agents of the state
alcoholic beverage control board and Pelham police.

Some 30,000 fans attended the sold-out concert of the group at the
amphitheater south of Birmingham.

Pelham police Capt. E.A. Thomas Jr. said Erica Robins Young, 29, of
Chattanooga, Tenn., died of an apparent overdose of the drug Ecstasy that
had been purchased for $20.

The Birmingham News, which reported the death Monday, said Young collapsed
about 10 p.m. Saturday, with people continuing to dance around her before
she was finally dragged from the stands and given cardiopulmonary
resuscitation. She died about an hour later.

Among those arrested was a state prison system guard, 24-year-old James
Clemmons, who works at the St. Clair County Correctional Facility. He was
charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

As part of the crackdown, state agents in plainclothes weaved their way
among Widespread Panic fans in the parking lots, confiscating a range of
drugs including cocaine and OxyContin. Teams of three or four agents, led
by those in their 20s and backed by older officers, looked for illegal drug
dealing.

Lt. Andy Hardy of the ABC board ran the operation from a mobile command
center behind the amphitheater's stage, with a prison system bus used as a
temporary jail.

Among those observing the concert scene were Carol and Kenneth Hudson of
Gadsden, whose 21-year-old son Anthony, a Widespread Panic fan, died on
Christmas Day 2000 of an OxyContin overdose. They had not been to one of
the group's concerts before.

"We just had to see what was going on," Carol Hudson told the News.

"I can't believe this," said her husband. "It's unreal."

One of those arrested for misdemeanor possession of marijuana found the
crackdown repellant.

"What they did to me was totally uncool," said Jason Bartlett, 30, a
Widespread Panic follower and self-described ski bum from Colorado. "We are
trying not to lose our vibe, but we are definitely scared."