Our Code's ban on drug use

Our Code’s ban on drug use is presented as a stated rule whose application is complicated by an apparent exception for the group’s leader. In Juan’s brief explanation to Jenny, prohibition and permissiveness sit side by side without being reconciled.

The Rule and Its Stated Exception

Juan tells Jenny, “Our Code forbids drugs,” then says the leader drank wine when worries clouded his thoughts. He describes wine and grass as natural things, but does not clarify whether either is exempt from the rule, or how the group distinguishes permitted use from prohibited use. His unfinished explanation leaves the code’s precise boundaries uncertain.

The Rule in Practice

The exchange takes place after Juan has poured wine for Pauline and himself from the jugs brought to the house; Pauline drinks steadily. Leaning on the counter as he recorks a jug, Juan begins to explain the code, but seems to decide that the lesson is not worth the trouble. The scene therefore presents the rule not as an elaborated system of enforcement, but as a brief appeal whose authority is unsettled by the leader’s reported drinking and Juan’s abrupt withdrawal from the explanation.