Possible drug use at Cloud Cult concert sends three to hospital

Lutsen – During a recent sold-out concert by the Duluth-based band Cloud Cult at Papa Charlie’s on Ski Hill Road, emergency responders were called to the scene to assist people experiencing harsh reactions to alleged drug abuse.

The WTIP News Department was told by a Cook County resident a “vape pen” containing fentanyl was circulating amongst the large crowd during the Feb. 9 concert. Cook County staff shared information with WTIP that indeed emergency responders, including law enforcement officers, were called to Papa Charlie’s during the Cloud Cult concert. However, according to Cook County staff there were “no charges, no evidence of drugs or alcohol from a law enforcement perspective.”

According to the initial calls to law enforcement from Feb. 9 that were shared with WTIP, there were three attendees of the concert, two men and one woman, who appeared “to be on something,” according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Department. At least one of the individuals was “really out of it, pale” and having a “hard time walking,” according to initial reports from the concert that were shared with law enforcement.

The three individuals were later transported from Papa Charlie’s to the local hospital in Grand Marais.

With regard to the alleged paraphernalia circulating the crowd at Papa Charlie’s during the Cloud Cult concert, a vaporizer pen, commonly known as a ‘vape pen,’ is a small device about the size of a pen that is used to smoke tobacco or cannabis products. Fentanyl, meanwhile, is a synthetic opioid that can be 100 times stronger than morphine. There are reports across the country of people using fentanyl in vaping devices, including a 2017 incident where a man in Michigan died after apparently using liquid fentanyl in a vaping device. The New York Post reports “the unidentified man passed out after taking a ‘number of hits’ from the pipe and never regained consciousness.”

Vaping and opioid abuse are pressing topics among many community leaders in Cook County in 2019. The issues have been discussed numerous times in public meetings, including a recent ‘joint powers meeting’ where members of the Cook County ISD #166 School Board and staff were present, as were representatives of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and staff, Grand Marais City Council, North Shore Health and others. During the Feb. 28 meeting, school officials in particular expressed concern about the use of vaping in the community.