While the use of altered states is certainly not a goal or intention of this event, we are allowing the space for responsible use. This is also a factor in who we choose to invite, because substance use and sexual play can add layers of complexity, and we don’t want people overwhelmed or stressed.
Here are some of our intentions and guidelines for responsible substance use. This framework is based on the work of William Winters (william@bonobonetwork.com) & Misha Bonaventura (misha@bonobonetwork.com) of Bonobo Network, you can find their open source Consent & Accountability Policy here: https://bit.ly/bonobonetworkconsentpolicy
We encourage participants to take care of themselves, and one another, by interrogating the risks of participating in a given activity and by proactively disclosing risks to activity partners.
We seek to mitigate certain risks by holding participants accountable to a common set of values and standards. We expect attendees to be their most trustworthy selves, especially with respect to their ability to behave consensually, honestly, and considerately.
With these expectations in place, we offer the following guidelines if you intend to consume substances at this event:
You must remain sober enough to give trustworthy consent and seek and perceive information about others’ consent and boundaries. Insobriety is never an excuse for non-consensual engagement. If using substances in this environment limits your curiosity about others’ boundaries concerning physical touch or reduces your capacity to respect others’ boundaries, it is best to remain sober.
If you’re consuming substances, you have a duty to proactively disclose what substances you’re using to anyone you might be playing with. Not everyone wants to take the risks associated with playing with people who are anything less than 100% sober. Disclosing our sobriety not only gives us a chance to check in with ourselves about whether we’re sober enough to give consent, it also ensures that the consent of people we play with is fully informed.
Whether you’re consuming substances or not, it’s your job to ask anyone you’d like to play with about their sobriety. We don’t expect that disclosure will be perfect, especially among those for whom this is a new cultural requirement. So we also want people to be in the habit of inquiring about sobriety and substance use even if the information isn’t proactively offered during consent negotiations.
If at any point you have even a tiny shred of doubt that someone you’re playing with is sober enough to consent to sexual activity, you have a duty to decline the invitation, no matter how “enthusiastic” they may seem. Our aim is to create an information ecosystem that prevents anyone from making decisions due to substance use that they may regret when they return to sobriety. If someone is too intoxicated to give consent, please let an event host know as soon as you can. No one will be kicked out or sent home, we just want to help make sure that person is safe, contained, and well-cared for.
If you choose to consume substances, please let at least one other person know what you’re doing. That way if something goes wrong, there can be a shared idea of what may be happening.
Please test your substances, particularly for fentanyl, before consuming or sharing them. See https://dancesafe.org/fentanyl/ for more information on how to do this.
Narcan will be available onsite with the first aid kit in case of accidental consumption of tainted substances.