I am curious how this policy came about? Was there a committee that sought community opinion and voted? I am just curious. i understand the reasons behind it and can understand why illegal substances would be discouraged. I am just wondering how a decision like this is made for an entire community regarding alcohol which is legal and hadled responsibly by many people. This policy it would seem ignores cultural celebration within communities that come together over wine and spirits.

thank you.

cole

I interpret Gwen's policy statement as a suggestion, not a rule. Assuming that the drinking of alcoholic beverages is legal in Dolores Park, then it is legal at events in Dolores Park, and at this event in particular. So you can go ahead and do it if you want to, regardless of any suggestions by the organizing committee.

But I think Cole has a good point -- alcohol is an intergral part of cultural celebrations all over the civilized world. We in the U.S. would do well to try to incorporate it comfortably into our own celebrations instead of trying to curry favor with uptight, neurotic prohibitionists.

Alcohol, drugs and even smoking are all technically prohibited at Dolores Park, but that wasn't the big motivator for us.

There are two main reasons why we're trying to cut down on substances in the park. The first is that the city asked us and the other Pride events to do so because Pride's been getting really messy over the last few years. The TM has generally been the best of the lot in that respect, but we get bigger and bigger every year, so it's good to think ahead. For now, the city is going to let us police ourselves since it's a new thing, but they warned us that in coming years they'll probably start ticketing people. No one wants that.

But it's the second reason I personally think is the more compelling. We got a fair bit of feedback from youth, folks in recovery and families that they didn't feel comfortable around so many substances. So we convened meetings with reps from various orgs that serve the community to discuss. Since we try really hard to make our event accessible, welcoming and fun for all, we decided to discourage substances in the park.

But we totally know some folks are going to indulge no matter what and if you do, we're not going to kick you out or anything like that. You might have someone ask you to keep it on the DL or whatever, but unless you get too rowdy or unruly, you're still very welcome at the March. We really want our event to be welcoming to everyone in the community.

And for the record, we're not at all anti-booze. Most of us on the Committee love to drink and party as much as the next person. We're just going to be saving our drinking and partying for the afterparty at El Rio.

I think its awesome that this is the policy. I think our culture is overly dominated by substances...and folks rely too heavily on them to enjoy the moment instead of being fully conscious and present. Many of us are also clean and sober for various reasons and greatly appreciate being able to attend an event like this without triggers. Thank you!