Pubdate: Wed, 01 Nov 2006 Source: Excalibur (CN ON Edu) Copyright: 2006 Excalibur Contact: http://www.excal.on.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3147 Author: Frances Olimpo, Managing Editor SMOKING POT ON CAMPUS A York Professor Has Been Given a Room on Campus to Smoke Marijuana for Medical Purposes. Excalibur Speaks to Him About His Right to Light Up A York professor will get his own room to smoke pot for his medical condition. In the second known case in Canada, York University has provided accommodation for a criminology professor to smoke marijuana on campus grounds for medicinal purposes. Brian MacLean, recently hired as an assistant professor in sociology in July, suffers from a severe form of degenerative arthritis that requires him to use the controversial substance once every four hours. As of Monday, Nov. 6, he will no longer be forced to find private areas to medicate himself out of fear he would be stigmatized by students or colleagues. "Part of the problem was the delay of two months. I would be smoking, medicating, on campus and people would either see me or they would smell it on me," said MacLean, who also admits that he still feels uncomfortable being negatively associated with a drug that he uses for health reasons. "It's not corrective medication; it's enabling, and I don't think people quite understand that. I think there's a lot of really negative and damaging stereotypes around the use of drugs, generally." In an Oct. 28 report by The National Post, University of Toronto philosophy professor Doug Hutchinson was the first employee to request and be granted accommodation to smoke marijuana as a form of medical treatment. He now has privileged access to "a drab basement space with a single window and ventilation fan," located in downtown Toronto's Trinity College. Hutchinson was also the first to gain media attention in his quest for an accommodation: there were reports of clashes with the head of Trinity College, Margaret MacMillan, who claimed that it was the novelty of the case that slowed down the university's process to confirm medical need as well as finding a space; there was also an upsetting editorial published by the University of Western Ontario's The Gazette, which argues for his right to smoke but also calls Hutchinson a "pothead." "It looks on the outside to be successful," said Hutchinson, when Excalibur contacted him for a phone interview. "However, you will find that it's not. MacLean said that, because of Hutchinson, his experience with York did not require an uphill battle and was seen as addressing a medical need from the beginning by all parties involved. Louise Ripley, a representative from his union, the York University Faculty Association (YUFA), confirmed that their discussions with the university has led to a room that has already been set aside for MacLean. "It took a little time in being able to find a room because York is now totally a smoke-free environment. So, part of the problem was being able to find a room where he can smoke anything that wouldn't disturb other people." "This is a first time for us; it's the first time we looked at this procedure," said Alex Bilyk, director of media relations at York. When MacLean was authorized by Health Canada to possess and produce marijuana, he said that he approached the head of his department to request accommodation. He had also requested, in the meantime, to refrain from going to campus and offered to hold classes off-campus for students. After CBC News made an Oct. 19 report that exposed MacLean's illness and treatment, he felt that there was no longer any reason for him to hide, and came to campus only to smoke pot in the "peripheries" of university grounds. Two weeks later, after discussions between YUFA, the employer, labour relations and facilities, MacLean was notified by his union that a room was made available at his disposal. MacLean, however, said that even when he is given accommodation, there are still myths that need to be dispelled when it comes to marijuana, or what he wants to distinguish as "marihuana," as it is called under Health Canada regulations and academic studies. "It's a stigmatizing circumstance. And I would hope that my colleagues recognize it for what it is - a medical condition, however unusual. "I don't want people assuming that because I have a medical condition that I can't perform my duties properly. It's completely wrong; it's completely unfair; it's completely contrary to the Human Rights Code of Ontario and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms." MacLean, who has a sociology PhD, has been teaching for almost 25 years. He currently lists "recent developments in the decriminalization of cannabis for medical use" as one of his many areas of substantive research interests. - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine