CALGARY – A SAIT student is sparking debate, over whether or not she should be able to take her medication at school.
Lisa Kirkman is a journalism student who suffers from severe chronic pain and a blood disorder.
Kirkman manages her pain with the aid of medication, but it’s the kind of medication she uses that has been raising some eyebrows.
Lisa uses a vaporizer to medicate herself with medicinal marijuana.
“Obviously, if I could just pop some Ibuprofen, I would do that,” says Kirkman. “I would prefer to just be able to go to school and not have anyone know that I have any health issues whatsoever… and just carry on.”
Her vaporizer produces an odour, and makes a slight noise – causing it to catch the attention of school officials.
“I have a license,” says Kirkman. “Essentially it’s prescribed a certain amount per day.”
Kirkman says she got a heads up a couple of weeks ago, that SAIT may ask her not to vaporize within any of its buildings.
However, SAIT says no decisions have been made so far.
They released a statement saying, “This is a unique situation and we are reviewing our options to ensure that SAIT meets all of its legal obligations to both groups.”
Lisa says one solution could be a designated area where she could use her vaporizer without disrupting other students.
Her license allows her to smoke marijuana as well, in designated areas, but Lisa says she would prefer to use the vaporizer.
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