# Drugs and Conventions



## Drusnick (May 22, 2010)

So I know drugs are like, illegal, banned from most conventions, ect ect, but,
for the people who have gone to conventions, whats the deal there?
Are most furries as bad as their image online, and are nerds with a full blown no drug policy, or if they see someone smoking a bowl with some friends, are they just gonna pass by, or join them?

Also on that note,
Whats security like at most cons?
I'm guessing they don't go searching through crap. Like if i was gonna slip in some acid tabs or something it'd be pretty easy right?


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## A Concerned Citizen (May 22, 2010)

Aw, fuck it. I'll answer your questions, albeit they're a bit silly and they only require just a bit of thinking.

If I smoke the weed and you smoke the weed, then its easy to deduce that others smoke the weed. The higher the drugs intensity, the less likely people will be willing to join you.. so don't expect to bring a brick of coke and have everyone doing lines of your recently commissioned picture. 

Even so, a lot of furfags are (somewhat understandably) against this sort of thing and you'll have to do a lot of networking to find out who's who. After all, they have a future; we don't. :V

If furcons are anything like Ohayocon (and they more-than-likely are), no one is going to be checking your bags for anything. It's still a good idea to leave that shit in your hotel room/car/whatever. Again, when in doubt, use logic and treat everyone like they're a conservative grandma with police connections.


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## gdzeek (May 22, 2010)

If they are like any other convention they dont search you, but you'd have to do it somewhere private most likely, out in the open will be looking for trouble.


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## Drusnick (May 22, 2010)

gdzeek said:


> If they are like any other convention they dont search you, but you'd have to do it somewhere private most likely, out in the open will be looking for trouble.


Well i was thinking of rolling or dropping at a con sometime soon. All the fursuits and shit, it would be kinda epic


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## Drusnick (May 22, 2010)

A Concerned Citizen said:


> treat everyone like they're a conservative grandma with police connections.


Paranoia and drugs dont mix XD


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## Fiesta_Jack (May 22, 2010)

I think rolling at a con sounds pretty cool, actually. I'd assume that furs are about the same as nonfurs when it comes to drug policy, i.e. some people use, some people don't care, and some people will try to call the fuckin' cops if they suspect something.


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## Drusnick (May 22, 2010)

Fiesta_Jack said:


> I think rolling at a con sounds pretty cool, actually. I'd assume that furs are about the same as nonfurs when it comes to drug policy, i.e. some people use, some people don't care, and some people will try to call the fuckin' cops if they suspect something.


Ikr?

And I guess, I'm just noticing more anti-drug views in furs then normal people.


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## gdzeek (May 22, 2010)

Drusnick said:


> Ikr?
> 
> And I guess, I'm just noticing more anti-drug views in furs then normal people.



thats because people think were high without resorting to drugs, so we dont bother with such wasteful habits


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## Jelly (May 22, 2010)

There's usually a small amount of drugs floating around, and a lot of people don't care.


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## Slyck (May 22, 2010)

Go to a convention in California. Problem solved.

/thread


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## Istanbul (May 22, 2010)

You haven't really stopped to think about what you're saying, have you?

"Are furries a bunch of uptight nerds who don't want people partaking of illegal substances that could cause the event they spent more than a year and thousands upon thousands of dollars planning to be shut down? My desire to get high is more important than everyone else having a good time!"

I can tell you this much: at Furry Fiesta, if you get caught doing drugs, expect to get kicked out.


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## fuzthefurfox (May 22, 2010)

if i see just some random person with a bowl im not gona even pay attention cause they could be a cop.  But if it was one of my good old friends then sure why not


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## Drusnick (May 22, 2010)

gdzeek said:


> thats because people think were high without resorting to drugs, so we dont bother with such wasteful habits


Just imagine a furry on acid. =P


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## Drusnick (May 22, 2010)

Slyck said:


> Go to a convention in California. Problem solved.
> 
> /thread


Haha, that was kinda the plan.


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## Drusnick (May 22, 2010)

Istanbul said:


> You haven't really stopped to think about what you're saying, have you?
> 
> "Are furries a bunch of uptight nerds who don't want people partaking of illegal substances that could cause the event they spent more than a year and thousands upon thousands of dollars planning to be shut down? My desire to get high is more important than everyone else having a good time!"
> 
> I can tell you this much: at Furry Fiesta, if you get caught doing drugs, expect to get kicked out.


Its not gonna get shut down over a few people lighting up


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## Drusnick (May 22, 2010)

fuzthefurfox said:


> if i see just some random person with a bowl im not gona even pay attention cause they could be a cop.  But if it was one of my good old friends then sure why not


I doubt some cop is going to narc at a furry con


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## FancyMissLady (May 22, 2010)

Let me put it this way..

Drugs and all illegal activities are forbidden. If you are caught, expect to get kicked out, and maybe permabanned. Maybe.

There is often strict con security.
There are a lot of people who will report you.
There are, believe it or not, police. 
If police are not present, con staff WILL turn you over to them.

Use your best judgment. Your actions could toss another brick of shit on the fandom's already muddied reputation.
Is your recreational activity WORTH being fined, cited, having it put on your record?

That's my advice, without being too biased.


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## Jelly (May 22, 2010)

Hmm.
I've never really heard of a problem.
except for stair dragon dude
and they only narc'd on him for being a fucking psycho


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## Drusnick (May 22, 2010)

FancyMissLady said:


> Your actions could toss another brick of shit on the fandom's already muddied reputation.
> 
> Is your recreational activity WORTH being fined, cited, having it put on your record?
> 
> That's my advice, without being too biased.


Well first, I'm sure outsiders already think we're on drugs.

Secondly, Having some recreational drugs isnt a big deal in california, and I don't have plans on going out of state to attend a con

And lastly, that was pretty biased, lol


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## Drusnick (May 22, 2010)

Jelly said:


> Hmm.
> I've never really heard of a problem.
> except for stair dragon dude
> and they only narc'd on him for being a fucking psycho


lol who? ?___?


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## Jelly (May 22, 2010)

Drusnick said:


> lol who? ?___?



Well.
He's a guy.
A guy people took to calling Tumbles the Stairdragon.
Because at a con when people wouldn't smoke weed with him (and he was supposedly on cocaine) he threw himself down a flight of concrete stairs to try and kill himself.

so they called an ambulance because there was damage to his head and neck and they weren't just going to let him die or flail around there
he was arrested on his way to the hospital

But he was at the con the next year.
So, they didn't ban him or anything.
but there was a lot of controversy about that

there are drugs at a con
i dont know
check out 420furs or something see if they have any horror stories


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## FancyMissLady (May 22, 2010)

Drusnick said:


> Well first, I'm sure outsiders already think we're on drugs.
> 
> Secondly, Having some recreational drugs isnt a big deal in california, and I don't have plans on going out of state to attend a con
> 
> And lastly, that was pretty biased, lol



I'm sure they do. c:

How was it biased, exactly? I was merely asking you to think about the legal consequences of your decisions, and to measure out if they were worth it or not before you continued with your plans.

I don't think that is being biased. I think that is being realistic; however, if you're already as "paranoid" as you made mention of, you maybe would have thought of those things already?


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## Teco (May 22, 2010)

Some bunny freaked out on drugs at AnthroCon apparently.

Later, people thought she snuck back in with her suit, wasn't her but Uncle Kage came up to make sure. He had an aura. ...like Sake aura. You could smell across the room. And the room was filled with furries. So thats saying something.

Someone tried to sell some to me on the way to my hotel too. A dealer...semi-smart dealer, I suppose.


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## Jelly (May 22, 2010)

Teco said:


> Some bunny freaked out on drugs at AnthroCon apparently.



oh is that what happened
i know he just like collapsed or something


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## Fiesta_Jack (May 23, 2010)

I think I'll do my first con relatively clean, and maybe trip or roll my second con. It seems like a great atmosphere, actually.


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## Drusnick (May 23, 2010)

Fiesta_Jack said:


> I think I'll do my first con relatively clean, and maybe trip or roll my second con. It seems like a great atmosphere, actually.


Haha, tripping at a con might be pretty awesome.
With everyone there so friendly, if u run up and hug a giant (insert animal here) they'll probably just hug u back


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## Danale (May 23, 2010)

Considering furries have trained themselves not to gawk when grown men walk around in animal costumes wearing tight boy-toy shorts, few people are likely to care about your use of drugs.

There are people who are intense druggies and others who wouldn't even touch alcohol.

The bottom line is always ask politely and always respect people's wishes. If you're rooming with people you haven't met before, ask them what they are and are not cool with before hand. If you're hosting a party and one person is uncomfortable with their surroundings, just politely explain to them that using X substance is how you and your friends will be unwinding for the rest of the night in that particular area, and if they are uncomfortable with it they'd be better off finding another gathering.

Don't toot your horn over what you do and don't do; Despite this fandom being all about expressing your individuality and respecting people's quirks, it's also a fandom that despises attention whores. Especially people whining for attention over something as personal and unmentionable as drug use, or your spiritual otherkin beliefs, or your sexuality, etc. etc.


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## Karimah (May 23, 2010)

I've never been to a furry convention. I have, however, been to 12 anime conventions and I'm assuming that the atmosphere after a certain point is similar. By around 10 or 11, just before the rave but far enough after the masquerade, roughly 70% of the population is either on drugs or drunk. No one cares and most of the weed smokers just take it outside (if you're caught smoking inside the con-ops will smash you with their ban powers).

In a powerful attempt to avoid bias I will say that if people notice that you're flipping out and being destructive with some form of illegal substance in your hand they will probably report you. The nay sayers I guess. If you're flipping out without anything in your hand you'll get funny looks but nothing else.


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## Istanbul (May 23, 2010)

Drusnick said:


> Its not gonna get shut down over a few people lighting up



You're sure of that? You're so confident that the hotel won't mind people breaking the law on their property that you're willing to wager not only your fun, but the fun of hundreds of other people on it?

So selfish.

Here's an idea: leave your drugs at home, try experiencing the event sober. You might actually enjoy it more (gasp!).
Here's another idea: If you can't leave your drugs at home for three days, you're probably an addict.


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## Torrijos-sama (May 23, 2010)

FEAR AND LOATHING IN ANTHROCON, 2012!


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## Jelly (May 23, 2010)

Istanbul said:


> You're sure of that? You're so confident that the hotel won't mind people breaking the law on their property that you're willing to wager not only your fun, but the fun of hundreds of other people on it?
> 
> So selfish.
> 
> ...



:roll:


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## Bandit Braith (May 24, 2010)

Drusnick said:


> Well i was thinking of rolling or dropping at a con sometime soon. All the fursuits and shit, it would be kinda epic




I think that'd be kind of stupid.

speaking from personal...opinions, ALOT of congoers can tell if you're rolling....and only YOU might be having fun.

and speaking from past experiencceessss


more than likely people will get mad and fuck with you, or fuck you over.
I was at the last jacon and some people were high and shit but being destructive to others, they got jumped and ended up in a hospital.

plus, there are cameras...and from experience, if you're caught doing something on their property, the hotel/convention center is liable and will not only kick you out, but shut down the entire convention.


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## Bandit Braith (May 24, 2010)

oh, and...yeah, people will report you too ><


there's a huge difference between weed and E.

weed, you get caught, probably get a few fines because it's still FEDERALLY illegal.

something more serious, may result in the convention itself being liable, apparently....orrrrrrrr they could file litigation against you >_>


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## GraemeLion (May 24, 2010)

Jelly said:


> Hmm.
> I've never really heard of a problem.
> except for stair dragon dude
> and they only narc'd on him for being a fucking psycho



I was on staff at that event.  Literally, at that event.  

We didn't narc on him for being a psycho.  We narc'd on him because he threw himself down a steep flight of concrete stairs and was bleeding a lot afterwards.  Oh, and not moving.  

When someone is laying on the ground, blood gushing from their head, someone is going to call 911.  The initial call went in for suicide attempt, medical. The police came along with EMS in case things went weird.

But that's why he got narc'd on, not because he was a fucking psycho.  We didn't know what he was at the time, other than bleeding a lot.

(Also, I don't think he was ever arrested.  Detained for medical purposes, but never arrested.  I also don't think charges were filed.)


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## Jelly (May 24, 2010)

I meant the ambulance and cops were called because he threw himself down a flight of stairs because nobody wanted to smoke weed with him, and he tried to kill himself more than once during the night (which, gosh, sure sounds like someone with a series of problematic neuroses) because of this.

nobody called the cops just because he had drugs on him


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## GraemeLion (May 24, 2010)

Jelly said:


> I meant the ambulance and cops were called because he threw himself down a flight of stairs because nobody wanted to smoke weed with him, and he tried to kill himself more than once during the night (which, gosh, sure sounds like someone with a series of problematic neuroses) because of this.
> 
> nobody called the cops just because he had drugs on him



Oh, he definitely had a problem.  It's just that to those of us working it, none of those things were apparent to us.  We heard of rumors about the drug stuff long after the con ended.    
'
So , if you do drugs at conventions, don't make yourself a hassle for us working


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## Dragoneer (May 24, 2010)

Drusnick said:


> Are most furries as bad as their image online, and are nerds with a full blown no drug policy, or if they see someone smoking a bowl with some friends, are they just gonna pass by, or join them?


There's generally a fair bit of drugs that go on at most cons, but I'd say 99.9% of it is just people smoking a bit of pot in their rooms. While I'm supposed to disagree with it and say "NO, THAT'S BAD!" given my role running FAU, it's probably the single least threatening thing that people could do. ESPECIALLY when given the amount of alcohol that some people consume over the weekend.

I'll be a realist. It happens.

Is there some harsher stuff there? Yes, but no more or less than you'd find the same anywhere else in life.

And there's my opinion on that.


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## Redregon (May 24, 2010)

gdzeek said:


> If they are like any other convention they dont search you, but you'd have to do it somewhere private most likely, out in the open will be looking for trouble.



umm, i don't know how it is in the states, but i know that in canada, only actual police officers are legally allowed to search you (touch your person in any legal capacity.)

granted, security staff DO have the right to escort you off the premises if you refuse a search, but if they touch you in any way (and you haven't shown signs of being hostile, justifying them grabbing you) you can come down on them. 

ever notice how the Dorsai have yet to actually touch someone in any capacity other than a friendly handshake/pat-on-the-back?

still, if you bring drugs to a con, just be smart about it and hide it well. there are tons of places you can go in pittsburgh where you can probably have a bowl with friends if you wish to, but PA has a very (worse than other states) strict policy on drug use. 

protip: if you DO want to then read up on the drug laws in that area... arm yourself with knowledge and ditch the propaganda that a lot of pro-drugs sites spout. that way you can make a decision as to if the risk is worth the reward. oh, and don't be a stupid newb and go advertising that you've got weed. keep it on the DL and if that means you smoke alone, then you smoke alone. 

p.s. i would highly suggest you only smoke with people you know are cool with it (and/or are stoners themselves) be smart, don't be an idiot.


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## Istanbul (May 24, 2010)

Dragoneer said:


> I'll be a realist. It happens.



No one can deny that. And I'd have to be pretty naive to think that I could prevent all of it even if I wanted to.

That said, there are multiple levels of this issue:

1) Acknowledging that some drugs are probably used at cons
2) Advising someone on an open forum that it's okay to use drugs at cons
3) Projecting the likely outcome of someone getting high at a con

1 is pretty much a fait accompli. 2 is a bad idea. 3 is pretty much impossible, though I can tell you that IF you are caught, you will almost certainly get kicked out for a number of reasons. One big one is, if the hotel sees that the convention doesn't take action against people who use drugs, the hotel will take action instead...and the removal of the convention as a whole is, at that point, their most reasonable recourse.

In short, don't get caught getting high at cons. Easiest way to accomplish this? Don't get high at cons.


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## Jelly (May 24, 2010)

I doubt they would remove a con for even a few episodes of drug use.
Hotels would lose more than benefit from removing a yearly cash cow

but okay


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## Teco (May 24, 2010)

Jelly said:


> oh is that what happened
> i know he just like collapsed or something



Oh no, im pretty sure it was a chick. In the zoo, crying in a corner or something. Yyyyeaaah


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## Istanbul (May 24, 2010)

Jelly said:


> I doubt they would remove a con for even a few episodes of drug use.
> Hotels would lose more than benefit from removing a yearly cash cow
> 
> but okay



They lose a lot more if they have to deal with legal troubles (up to and including fines) and damage to their reputation. Trust me, I speak from experience on both sides of the fence on this issue.


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## Cotoncandie (May 28, 2010)

Istanbul said:


> Here's an idea: leave your drugs at home, try experiencing the event sober. You might actually enjoy it more (gasp!).



Most people can't do that. If you can't have fun 100% sober, you're one f-ing boring person.



Istanbul said:


> They lose a lot more if they have to deal with legal troubles (up to and including fines) and damage to their reputation. Trust me, I speak from experience on both sides of the fence on this issue.



And most people won't understand this. Actual profit from the con vs probable defamation, legal fees, fines, and... oh yeah, someone getting their job in jeopardy because they let this happen in the first place. You don't think it works that way? Mr.Hotel owner isn't gonna like some smear to get his monthly income down, and he's gonna find someone to blame it on. Believe me.


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## PastelPooch (Jun 2, 2010)

Hey folks - as I typically work as a volunteer medic for the Further Confusion Cons , as well as other SciFi conventions in and around the SF Bay Area, which is typically part of Con Security, I'd really ask that you not consider engaging or using while at the con. I've can't count the number of times i've had to treat con-go'ers who've over-indulged and it's often times not pretty.

I know everyone wants to have fun and i'm down with that, but if you over-indulge and i get a call to assess your condition, I need to make a critical decision about your overall health and altered level of conscience. If I think your health is comprimised, you can't keep an open airway or if your vitals aren't stable, we'll call the bus (i.e. ambulance) and have you transported to the nearest receiving hospital for eval - depending on your condition, cops may show up as well...

For most of the con go'ers (at least at Further Confusion), they don't realize that we have medical personnel around to ensure everyone's taken care of...the con medics are here to help but please...all we ask is that you don't make more work for us...but if we do meet due to a medical call, I'll do everything in my power to make sure your health is my #1 priority...

thx


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## Felicia Mertallis (Jun 2, 2010)

I will give you a tidbit of advice: never roll in a fursuit, you'd die of dehydration, haha.

Anyway, um, in my experience unless your hanging out in the prude party room no ones going to give a shit if your a stoner. I mean, don;t get stoned IN a con room, but if your stoned at the con like, whos going to give a shit ya know? Its fun to get really high and walk around hugging people 

Um, other then that, I've never rolled at a convention but it seems fun yet risky. You'd have to be sure to carry around a *mega* bottle of water just to be safe.
I actually suggest a camelbak if thats the drug route your taking 

Just be safe, stay in control of yourself and have fun


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## Felicia Mertallis (Jun 2, 2010)

Drusnick said:


> Haha, that was kinda the plan.



hahahaaa, yes. Come to Cali and party with ussss.
I'd smoke you out at a convention.


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## Felicia Mertallis (Jun 3, 2010)

Bandit Braith said:


> oh, and...yeah, people will report you too ><
> 
> 
> there's a huge difference between weed and E.
> ...



How do you get caught being stoned?
Unless your like 16 and running around telling people how high you are...
:/ But I doubt OP is some kid who hasn't gotten past that point.
Weed is like salt, it enhances things, it doesn't blanket over your whole experience and make you crazy.
Anyone who gets crazy on weed is a dumbass who is doing it for attention and deserves to be kicked out.


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## Flarveon (Jun 3, 2010)

Felicia Mertallis said:


> Weed is like salt, it enhances things, it doesn't blanket over your whole experience and make you crazy.
> Anyone who gets crazy on weed is a dumbass who is doing it for attention and deserves to be kicked out.



This is what I say too.  Natural rather than chemical please.


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