Standing behind a table lined with 49 neatly arranged guns on one end and dozens of plastic bags filled with marijuana, ecstasy, heroin and other confiscated drugs on the other end, Maj. Tommy Ford of the Bay County Sheriff's Office made his case, yet again, that the college spring break scene in Panama City Beach, Fla. has gotten out of control.

Reading from a prepared statement, Ford called the growing spring break crowds "unsustainable and unmanageable," for an area that size, and was ready with a medical analogy for the county's struggles with spring break.

"I liken our experience to cancer," Ford said. "As a malignant tumor takes hold, vital organs are threatened. As the tumor grows, more systems in the body are affected, and the body eventually begins to shut down from the strain placed on it.

"Traditional treatment involves utilizing chemotherapy and radiation to target the tumor, however the body is severely affected by this treatment. Doctors must find the proper balance to rid the body of the tumor without killing the patient."

The patient in this case is the whole Panama City Beach area, with an economy that depends heavily on tourism dollars but has increasingly been exposed to the negative aspects of being one of the most popular spring break destinations in the country.

The drugs and guns were all taken into evidence during spring break-related arrests and patrols from March 1 to April 5 in Bay County, which includes Panama City Beach and Panama City. By comparison, only nine firearms were seized over the same period in 2014. Total arrests were almost three times higher than in 2014, rising to 1091 from 324. Drug arrests soared as well, with 202 arrests on 308 drug charges in 2015, up from 43 arrests on 64 charges in 2014.

"This year has been unprecedented in the level of criminal activity, calls for service, and firearm seizures," Ford said. "My opinion is this is not what you would expect to see from college spring break."

The 49 guns on the table were all pistols of various sizes, some revolvers, some semi-automatics. One had a laser sight mounted under the barrel. At the bottom right corner of the table, inside a sealed evidence box, was the weapon used during the shooting at a house party that injured seven people. A photo of the gun, taken at the scene where the gun was recovered, sat atop the cardboard box.

"We've talked about the dangers of spring break but sometimes a picture is worth 1000 words," Ford said. "We keep talking about how dangerous it is out there and I submit to you these (nearly) 50 guns as evidence of the dangers that we're facing."

After Ford finished his prepared statement, Lt. David Baldwin, the BCSO's beach precinct commander stepped to the podium. Baldwin said he personally confiscated some of the guns and drugs on the table and has witnessed firsthand the changing nature of spring break in Panama City Beach.

"This is my 23rd spring break working with the sheriff's office and this by far is the most violent, the most difficult to work," Baldwin said. "I have seen an increase in a very dangerous element that are now coming to our beaches to prey on our spring breakers."

Law enforcement officers often blame the escalation in crime not on the spring breakers themselves, but on the so-called "100-milers," people who are not in college but travel to the area to sell drugs, join the party or otherwise take advantage of the massive crowds that flood the area each year in March and early April.

The changing nature of spring break was on display on the table, Baldwin said.

"We are no longer just dealing with intoxicated spring breakers that are here to party and have a good time," he said. "Generally we would have calls for service for drunks or fights and then they would be dissipated, we'd make a few arrests and we'd go back to work.

"Unfortunately we're now getting into what you see on the table. The weapons, the narcotics, everything seems to be funneling to our area for this six or seven week period."

Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen has been outspoken in the past about the dangers of spring break. Last year, he presented a list of spring break recommendations to the Bay County Commission and Panama City Beach City Council that included prohibiting alcohol consumption on the beaches, closing bars earlier and limiting large-scale events on the beach.

Some of those recommendations were passed into ordinances last year and enforced, such as requiring people drinking alcohol on the beach to carry ID and the earlier bar closing times. Some of the recommendations, such as prohibiting drinking on the beach altogether, were not. At least they weren't until emergency sessions called after last month's shooting, during which the county commission and city council voted yes on emergency ordinances to ban drinking on the beach until April 18 this year.

The ordinances will be reconsidered for next year's spring break. Many locals are strongly in favor of the ordinances, and have begun circulating petitions to recall local officials they believe aren't acting strongly enough to control spring break.

Many other residents and especially local businesses feel that the proposed restrictions will harm the tourist economy and crack down largely on people who are not part of the problem of spring break crime, as officials continue to struggle with the balancing act of promoting tourism but maintaining control of dangerous situations.

Update, 1 p.m. April 9: Maj. Tommy Ford asked to clarify that his comments about cancer were in reference to the criminal element of spring break, not spring break as a whole.

"The sheriff has never advocated getting rid of spring break, only that crowds should be kept at manageable levels of college students," Ford said.