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.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine