CAMOSUN CLIPS CANNABIS CONCERT

Camosun College shut down a student club's recent pro-cannabis concert
on the Lansdowne campus, leading organizers to say the show was nipped
because it was about bud.

The August 24 concert, held outside Camosun's Fisher Building, was
organized by the college's Hempology 101 club. Founder Ted Smith, a
much-prosecuted local pro-pot activist, says, "We thought this would
have been within the mandate of the club and wouldn't be a problem."

But opening act Smoked Out Brainzzz had only played for about 20
minutes, he says, before a campus security guard pulled the plug on
their sound equipment. The guards then cancelled the show. The rest of
the lineup, Zolabud and The Sweathogs, never made it onto the stage to
perform for the crowd of 40 to 50 people.

"It seemed like they were bringing up a lot of excuses and reasons,"
says Smith. One security guard was particularly aggressive even though
the scene was peaceful, he adds, and speculates that the guards may
have been reacting more to the club's pro-pot stance than to what was
actually happening.

"I think a lot of it had to do with the club. I think a lot of other
groups would be able to have a gathering like that without the
resistance that we got."

Calls to Camosun's security department were forwarded to the media
relations department, where spokesperson Michelle Tinis said any group
holding a similar event would be treated the same. She advises
students planning events to contact the physical resources department
for help in getting the necessary approvals and permits.

"The students had not officially informed the College they were going
to have a band," says Tinis, who did not witness the event. "They also
didn't have a liquor license . . . [The guards] were worried it was
going to explode . . . As far as I know it was reported people were
both serving beer, drinking beer and smoking pot."

Later she called back to clarify. "There was a table set up and
beverages were being served, but the students said it was iced tea,
but [the guards] did observe the person behind the table serving it
drinking a beer." The guards did not check what was in the cups, she
says.

Smith says the event was explicitly alcohol-free.

What about pot smoking? "I think there was some of that going on, but
it certainly wasn't me," says Smith. This is Victoria, he adds, and
people smoke weed all over the place with growing social acceptance.

"It's a different world now," he says, citing the pending
decriminalization of pot possession, a marijuana-positive senate
report and a number of recent court decisions. "Now the things I do
and say are more often being accepted and embraced by everyone not in
a uniform."