08/31/2026
Over the last couple of weeks, Naomi Sioux and I have had some negative feedback from various people about our "no open drug use" policy at our events. I'd like to take a second to address this. If you're not going to read the whole thing, or just cherry pick the things out of this letter that suit you... don't bother reading it at all.
There seems to be an idea in parts of our local scene that taking the lead on an event means trying to control people, dictate how they behave, or somehow make the party less "free."
That's not what we're trying to do.
We love the DIY, unconventional, slightly feral nature of this scene. That's a huge part of what makes it special. We don't want to turn underground events into sterile, corporate experiences where somebody has a rule for every conceivable thing.
But there is a difference between freedom and a lack of responsibility.
When you organize an event, provide a venue, run the sound, collect money, promote the event, or otherwise put yourself in the position of being responsible for what happens there, you don't get to simply say, "We're all adults... do whatever you want."
That's not how the real world works.
If someone gets seriously hurt, if an ambulance has to be called, if there is a fight, if property gets damaged, if someone overdoses, if the police show up, or if something else goes badly wrong, somebody is going to be standing there answering questions.
And very often, that person is going to be the person who organized the event.
That's why we have rules.
No open drug use isn't about being anti-drug or trying to police people's personal lives. It's about recognizing that no legitimate venue, promoter, property owner, or event organizer can knowingly endorse illegal drug use happening openly at an event they're responsible for.
The same principle applies to violence, harassment, unsafe behavior, destruction of property, or anything else that puts other people... or the event itself... in danger.
We aren't interested in telling people what they can do in their own lives. We are going to establish boundaries around events that we organize and take responsibility for.
That's not us trying to be authoritarian. That's us doing the job we agreed to do.
There is also a difference between having a say in the community and being responsible for running the event. If you aren't the person willing to put your name, money, property, time, relationships, and potentially your legal exposure on the line, it's easy to look at a decision from the outside and say, "Why don't you just let people do whatever?"
We understand that perspective.
But leadership means making the decisions that aren't always popular.
We want this scene to remain weird. We want it creative. We want it experimental. We want people to have a place where they can dance until sunrise, hear music they wouldn't hear anywhere else, meet strange and wonderful people, and feel like they're part of something that isn't manufactured for them.
We don't want to kill that spirit. We want to keep it alive.
And the best way to do that is for all of us to recognize that these spaces don't happen by magic. Someone has to find the place. Someone has to pay for it. Someone has to deal with the neighbors. Someone has to provide the equipment. Someone has to deal with emergencies. Someone has to answer the phone when something goes wrong.
If that someone is us, then we're going to take that responsibility seriously.
You don't have to agree with every decision we make.
You don't have to like every rule.
But if you're coming to an event we're responsible for, you do need to respect the boundaries we've established.
That's not about taking the freedom out of the scene.
It's about making sure there is still a scene to come back to.
