Victoria’s Hempology 101 society offers the perfect mix of ingredients for a West Coast afternoon of entertainment — drugs, socialization and activism. And oh, yes  it’s free. 

Every Wednesday the society, headed by local activist and recent mayoral candidate Ted Smith, holds meetings in three Victoria locations — Camosun College at 3:20 
p.m., the University of Victoria at 4:20 p.m., and a  different location every week in the downtown core at  7 p.m.

“Some will immediately label me as an evil influence,” says Smith, who is banned from the UVic campus and has
a court date coming up in January. “Especially those who have not yet escaped from the constricting umbrella of traditional Western thought.”

The meetings usually last about 20 minutes and start with the distribution of joints (courtesy of the organizers) — followed by a relaxing period of smoking — and conclude with a report on local marijuana news.

Matt Peterson has been attending Hempology 101 meetings for two of the six years they have been offered and regrets not knowing about it earlier. 

“There’s weed. It’s free,” he says. “Everybody hangs out together and everybody’s sharing.”

Hempology 101 was started by Ted Smith in 1996 and had two members; today the weekly attendance is somewhere between 100 and 200, according to their web site 
(www.hempology.com).