Wrong place, wrong time
Indiana has a law prohibiting being at a place where illegal activities are going on. This law permits the arrest and conviction of someone who is not actively engaged in any otherwise illegal conduct (I’ve had clients who were sleeping upon arrest for this), but there is illegal activity going in the place where they are.
So, when the guy sitting across the room at a party starts smoking a joint, you are under an obligation to vacate the premises.
The crime is called visiting a common nuisance, and is defined by I.C. § 35-48-4-13(a), as: “[a] person who knowingly or intentionally visits a building, structure, vehicle, or other place that is used by any person to unlawfully use a controlled substance commits visiting a common nuisance, a Class B misdemeanor.”
From the statute, it is clear that the state has to prove that you knew of the illegal activity to be found guilty. If there are people using drugs in the basement, while you are sitting unaware in the living room, you have committed no crime.
From the face of the statute, it would appear that the police can arrest everyone in the room if they find one person doing drugs, giving the police broad discretion to arrest folks at house parties and other gatherings. However, the courts read in another limit on this statute based on the use of the word “common.” In order to convict someone under the statute, the state must also show that the place had been used on more that one occasion for the use of illegal drugs. This reading of the statute has been confirmed in Ann Zuniga vs State of Indiana.
