You have fun your way, others have fun theirs.

Why question it?

To me this is a totally personal question. It'll work for some persons and groups, not others, same as drinking.

In the US you should be careful not to have the drugs with you if you're gaming at someone else's house unless they're OK with it, though. The DEA can seize property with drugs found on it even of the owner of that property claims to have nothing to do with it - possibly unconstitutionally, they don't apply 'innocent until proven guilty' to drug-related property seizure, you have to prove your side of the case.

Quote from: KoltarAdded bit :
 The thing about drugs and gaming is  - WHY?

Because you like it?

my college (undergrad) group liked it just fine.  and since everyone was stoned, we were all on the same page (mostly).  :what:

these days it's just in wee amounts anyway, and my current group doesn't smoke grass.  one other guy does, but since the rest don't, we keep it out of gaming sessions.

booze is best in small amounts too.  i've had a few sessions over the years get nulled after the fact since things got extensively out of whack.  

i could never imagine tripping and gaming.  same for coke/speed, whatever.  

it's all dependent on 1.  who's hosting, and their rules, and 2.  group comfort with everything.

Quote from: KoltarThe thing about drugs and gaming is  - WHY?

 Its already a little ood or different just playing a typical playing game....doing drugs along with it just seems either reduundant or an exerecise in why bother?

My question is, why some drugs (alcohol) and not others?

This thread has fallen into the common fallacy of setting the drug alcohol on one side (and not calling it a drug), and then lumping pot, cocaine, mushrooms, crystal meth, etc. under a catch-all 'drugs'. The only thing the latter have in common is their illegality, and I don't see many here considering the issue in a legal context. And while I agree that a lot of people can't play RPGs very well while inebriated, in my experience pot is not inherently more befuddling than beer or whisky. Some people can't concentrate well while baked off their asses, but then a lot of people can't concentrate while drunk either.

caffeine, too.  i rarely drink soda anymore (mostly seltzer, or water).  the last time i had a couple of pepsi's (since i was driving) i got all shaky.  i drink coffee fine, so it must've been the caff and sugar combo.  i don't think i could pound the sodas like i did when i was a lad.  i'm sure that drug combo would give me a bad gaming session, amongst other things.

Quote from: HaffrungThis thread has fallen into the common fallacy of setting the drug alcohol on one side (and not calling it a drug), and then lumping pot, cocaine, mushrooms, crystal meth, etc. under a catch-all 'drugs'. The only thing the latter have in common is their illegality, [...]

Drugs other than alcohol also have in common a level of effect. You can have a little booze and it doesn't do much to you; you can't have a little drugs and they have no effect unless you're a heavy drug user, in which case you'll probably have other problems.

Broadly-speaking, with a healthy non-alcoholic adult, one standard drink (4/5 of an Aussie beer, a full US beer, half a glass of wine, a single shot of most spirits) will have no effect anyone will notice. A second standard drink within an hour will begin an effect of moderate relaxation like being slightly sleepy. A third standard drink within an hour will start to have more negative effects, with disinhibition leading to loudness, lloking for a fight, sleaziness, etc according to the personality of the drinker. But if it's kept to not more than one standard drink an hour, there'll be no significant negative effects over the time of a game session (2-6 hours).

Other drugs, either the person is a regular user or they're not. If they're not a regular user, even a small amount of use will have a strong effect and thus have an effect on the game session - whether you think it's a good or bad effect is a matter of your personal style, but it'll have a strong effect, is the point.

If the person's a regular drug user, or heavy drinker, then it's very common that they'll be lacking in social function in some way, unable to maintain more than one of job, spouse and friends. Their lack of social function will make it hard to have fun gaming with them.

Heavy drinking and regular drug use are also associated with mental illness. The mentally ill often "self-medicate", compounding their problems.

Again, not all those who use drugs at all or alcohol heavily are lacking in social function or mentally ill, and not all those who are lacking in social function or mentally ill use drugs or alcohol. But it's very common that drug users and heavy drinkers have social problems, and much less common but still significant that many heavy drinkers and regular drug users have mental problems.

I've no doubt that our OP, being as he is a person involved in the prison system, gets to meet people lacking in social function and with mental problems every day. It's no wonder he doesn't want to invite more like that to his game table by bringing in heavy drinkers or regular drug users.

I'd just love to see what happens to you after a smoke, Kyle. I can organise it if you like....

Quote from: droogI'd just love to see what happens to you after a smoke, Kyle. I can organise it if you like....

if you get to bake him, podcast it

Quote from: beeberif you get to bake him, podcast it

There aren't enough bits on the intraweb to capture kyle baked...

"so, how exactly did the 'internet get broken'?"

"well, it seems there was this podcast from oz. . . ."

1) Your private life is none of my concern, and my private life is none of your concern. Libertarian enough?

2) That being said, I want a gaming group I can count on. When someone skips a game night because he was too drunk or too stoned, it's time to make a choice. Otherwise it can quickly kill the interest in a great game. I'd go as far as to say that these kind of players are the bane of any long-term campaigns.

Quote from: Koltar...Added bit :
 The thing about drugs and gaming is  - WHY?...

I drink a bit when I play.  Beer or wine - rarely anything else.  I do it because it keeps me relaxed and focused.  If I don't, I simply can't get into the game.  My brain will wander towards work or chores or some bit of esoterica that suddenly pops up.  What I really need is Ritalin, but you try getting a diagnosis for Adult ADD without getting laughed at.  So alcohol it is.  (Also, I'm a happy and mellow drunk and can function pretty well - no driving of course, etc...)

I don't do harder drugs, but I don't care if the others at the table are on something or other so long as they're not belligerent annoying fucknuts and can stay "in the game."  If it's disruptive, I'll let them know.  Keep it up and they're told to leave with a permanent uninvite.

Quote from: droogI'd just love to see what happens to you after a smoke, Kyle. I can organise it if you like....

Been there, done that. I just got sleepy and relaxed.

I went to uni and experimented with all sorts of stuff like everyone else, mate. I stuck with what I liked and found good, and set aside what I didn't.

Quote from: Kyle AaronDrugs other than alcohol also have in common a level of effect. You can have a little booze and it doesn't do much to you; you can't have a little drugs and they have no effect unless you're a heavy drug user, in which case you'll probably have other problems.

That's not true, and it illustrates Haffrung's point quite well. You can't talk at that level of generality about drugs, drug use and drug users' reactions.