Officers with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency have had their hands full this summer ensuring people are following safety guidelines and the law. However, officials are concerned about the growing trend of drug possession on the water, specifically Percy Priest Lake.
"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."
Officer Landrum said they have made about 20 simple drug possession arrests on Percy Priest Lake since Memorial Day. He is worried because some of the drugs confiscated include cocaine and heroin.
"We are starting to see cocaine and heroin come on to our waterways. Over the past few years we've seen an increase in drug-related boating under the influence cases," Landrum added.
While Landrum could not give an exact reason behind the uptick, he does not anticipate his workload to get any easier.
"There are more states now making marijuana legal. People come out here to the lake and they don't realize there's law enforcement on the lake. I've seen prescription marijuana from Colorado and California and they bring out here thinking they won't be caught with it," Landrum said.
Recently, officers caught a man transporting marijuana plants planted near the lake.
There were four boating under the influence arrests on Fourth of July.
