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.