If someone offers you “stuff” at a venue, leave immediately — harboring and providing both count as aiding friends

3. If someone offers you “stuff” at a venue, leave immediately — harboring and providing both count as aiding friends

Cost: No cost at all. Just stand up and walk away. The hard part is having to leave in front of a whole group of people.

In plain terms: It is strictly illegal for entertainment venues to sell or provide drugs, or to allow anyone to use drugs on site. Violators face 3–6 months of suspension or permanent revocation of their operating license. Individuals face even harsher penalties: personal drug use results in public order sanctions. Allowing someone to use drugs in a private room you booked or in your own home counts as harboring drug use and is a criminal offense. If someone offers you unknown powders, pills, or vape cartridges, walk away right then.

Benefit: Regulations explicitly forbid entertainment venues from selling, providing, or facilitating drug use. Staff members are also prohibited from using drugs or aiding customers in any such activities. Penalties include confiscation of illicit gains, 3–6 month suspensions, and license revocation for serious violations. Venues must also post clear anti-drug, anti-gambling, and anti-prostitution warnings with hotline numbers in public areas and private rooms.

Evidence grade: A

Sources: State Council of China (2006). Regulations on the Management of Entertainment Venues (National Order No. 458, Articles 14, 30, and 42). <http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2008-03/28/content_6297.htm>

Notes: If anyone offers you unknown powders, pills, or vape cartridges to “try,” leave immediately — don’t stick around to watch. Individual liability is even heavier than venue liability: personal drug use alone incurs public order penalties, while letting a friend use drugs in your reserved room or home constitutes harboring drug use and is a criminal act.