Drug etiquette is a problem with many people, and usually the worst offenders are people you've sort of known for a really long time. I wanted to offer up a list of offenses I've been putting together in my head for a while, and have everybody add to it, so we can make a sort of "rules of the road for druggies". Because the next person that calls me at 3am asking if there are any "tasty treats" left is getting my fist in their face.

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT about while-tripping behavior. That is a whole other ball of wax that is really out of most people's control and, while amusing and sometimes annoying, not really something that's fair to make rules about. (See some of the tips at the Psychedelic Experience FAQ.)

Just because you and your group of friends are "into drugs" doesn't mean 1) every party has drugs, 2) everyone has drugs, and 3) that even if everyone *did* have drugs, they would want to give them to you.

Obviously, druggies don't have the best time management skills, but if you know ahead of time that you're supposed to take drugs with a group, I think you can take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to show up and dose before running errands. We're all getting older, and when your drug du jour has an onset of two hours, nobody wants to wait till midnight. Don't forget about prep time. While it would be nice if every time I walked into a party someone knew me so well they had a perfectly measured little capsule with my name on it, even my best friends are still somewhat degenerate and I'm not sure I would really trust them to do that, so you shouldn't either.

This should go without saying, especially considering many drugs are illegal, and therefore not always properly labeled. You would think this would go without saying, and yet...

Often this is a machismo thing. However, sometimes it is just gluttony and wasteful. I recognize that many (of my closest friends!) really do require heroic doses to get off, and I plan ahead for such things. But when somebody is trying something for the first time, or there is a limited quantity, or whatever, it's just stupid and rude. Don't look at (insert hardhead's name here) and say "how much are you doing?" Nobody wants to clean up your puke, or baby-sit you all night. And they'll just resent you if they didn't get enough because you took too much. (I am sensitive to freakouts, they happen to everybody, but as I mentioned earlier, this is not so much a while-tripping set of guidelines.)

(Special exceptions made to all of these for good friends - good friend being someone you have known a long time, have done drugs with many times, and they still like you and vice versa):

• Don't hound the host.
• Don't be the only one to boost if they're not your drugs (as a wise man once said, sometimes the answer to a not-so-good trip actually is "more", but man, what a crap shoot).
• Nitrous is the party killer (same for ketamine).
• Selling drugs at a party is tacky (however offering cash toward an order, or offering drugs you brought is just polite and good karma).
• Don't touch people you don't know without their express permission (of course this one is behavioral, but I make the exception because it is not necessarily drug related and people should just know it).
• Different rooms can (and should) have different music.
• Backlighting is underrated.
• Shower first, and don't forget deodorant.
• Being ground control can be more fun.
• Do you really want to be responsible for bringing "the Weird Guy" to the party?

Less people, more drugs.