Troopers arrest nine on drug charges during Salmonfest in Ninilchik

Alaska State Troopers arrested nine people at Salmonfest in Ninilchik over the weekend, eight of them on felony drug distribution charges, according to a Department of Public Safety dispatch.

Patrol troopers from Anchor Point worked with undercover investigators from Soldotna, Anchorage and the Mat-Su, and with Anchorage police, across the festival's three-day run from July 31 through Aug. 2. The dispatch said the operation targeted heavy drug use and the sale of psychedelic and stimulant drugs. Troopers said they seized methamphetamine, ecstasy, prescription pills and psychedelic mushrooms, along with cash and firearms. Over the weekend, troopers also helped medics respond to a drug overdose and broke up two fights.

The dispatch gives no quantities for any of the drugs, names no one arrested, and does not describe the alleged sales, leaving no way to tell how large the activity was or whether those charged were dealers or users. The charges are accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent.

The seized drugs also differ sharply in legal and scientific standing. Both the psilocybin in the mushrooms and the MDMA in ecstasy hold federal 'breakthrough therapy' designation and are in clinical trials as treatments for conditions like depression and PTSD.

The festival's posted rules bar illegal drugs and weapons — "We're serious, folks," they read. But attendees told Alaska News that security at the gates was minimal, with entrances lightly staffed.

The troopers, meanwhile, worked the festival trailed by camera crews. The Alaska State Troopers are again being filmed for a reality-TV series that markets "multi-agency criminal takedowns," and this was one. The Department of Public Safety says the filming is for recruitment and transparency and does not affect its work, but a filmed drug bust at a music festival raises a question reality-policing has faced since "Cops" — whether the camera helps pick the case.

Troopers said the investigation into several of the suspects is continuing.