PROBLEMS OVER POT

Eric Young is one of about 520 people across the country legally allowed to
use marijuana for medical reasons and he would like nothing better than to
be able to spark up his joints in peace.

But he claims he can't do that because neighbours in his subsidized housing
complex keep harassing him over his use of the drug.

Young says smoking pot helps him manage his multiple sclerosis. He has
fewer spasms, his mood improves, he sleeps better and his overall health is
generally elevated when he uses marijuana.

`If I don't smoke marijuana, I get some sharp pains sometimes and I get
this overall sense of not feeling right...I have no energy to do anything,'
says Young.

An exemption from Health Canada allows him to use -- and cultivate--marijuana.

Yet Young says he continues to receive threatening letters in his mailbox
from neighbours in his Capital Regional Housing Commission (CRHC) housing
complex.

Most complain that they catch a whiff of marijuana smoke in the hallway.

Since cigarette smoking is permitted in the complex, Young can't understand
the criticism.

`What's the problem with smoke in the hallway?' He asks, noting that the
smell of tobacco often hangs heavy in the halls. `Why should there be any
difference? I have as much right as any smoker--or more as this is for my
health.'

As far as Young knows, the ventilation in his building forces air from the
hallway into the suites, which makes him wonder how smoke can be leaking
out into the halls.

`My wife and I have tried to smell (marijuana smoke) in the hallway, and we
have never smelled it,' Young insists.

He adds that whenever he lights up he either smokes outside on his patio or
using a fan-ventilated window during inclement weather. He says also that
he has purchased an air purifier in an effort to combat odour.

He claims the CRHC is trying to force him to seal his front door--at his
own expense--and that will compromise air quality in his home.

The CRHC would not comment on the matter.

`He has the luxury of being able to speak (to the News) about his issues,
but we can't speak about issues with our tenants--it's against the
regulations,' said CRHC manager of operations, Amy Jaarsma. `We are aware
of his situation and there are some issues involved with respect to the
rights and responsibilities of both the landlord and the tenant. These
things take some time to resolve. We're not sure what all the issues are
yet, nor are we sure of the solution,' she added.

The Vancouver Island Compassion Society (VICS) is part of a larger chain of
groups advocating the medical use of marijuana, and director Philippe Lucas
says that Young's plight is all-too common.

`What we're dealing with here is a legal and social prejudice that's going
on and it's a matter of some people realizing that this is a medicine,'
Lucas asserts.

Lucas, who also is legally allowed to use marijuana for medical reasons,
suggests that Young is `running across a shallow-minded prejudice against
his treatment methods' and that raising public awareness is a key issue for
Young and others like him.

`It's going to be much tougher for the public to accept a sick man being
thrown out of his home for using his medicine than if it is presented as,
say, another pot smoker (smelling) up the hallways,' Lucas noted.

Young says he has tried to make others in the building aware that he uses
marijuana for medicinal reasons. He claims he even attempted to put a sign
up in his window informing his neighbours of that fact, but the CRHC
responded with a letter forcing him to remove the sign or face possible
eviction.

Young says he has had enough of being maligned over his use of marijuana
and he has hired a lawyer in an attempt to prevent further persecution.

He is also thinking seriously about lodging a complaint with the BC Human
Rights Commission.

But Lucas doubts much will change in terms of the kinds of prejudice that
Young--and others like him--face, even if a human rights tribunal rules in
his favour.

`I don't see anything really changing except one way or the other they
can't kick him out of his apartment,' Lucas observes.

`It is unfortunate that the people involved don't recognize that for him,
this is the only way he can get through the day living something close to a
normal life,' he concludes.