When we discuss problems of bullying and harassment at public schools in America, we are usually focused on the relationship among students. But what does bullying among educators look like? <\/p>\n
According to the <\/u>Chicago Sun-Times<\/em><\/u><\/a>, that\u2019s what is happening in Romeoville, Illinois, where a special education instructor has filed a formal complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) against her coworkers, alleging that she has faced harassment due to her status as a medical marijuana patient.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel that I am being judged,\u201d the teacher, who has decided to remain anonymous, wrote in the IDHR charge. \u201cI feel embarrassed, violated, confused, and heartbroken and betrayed by my own colleagues. I have seen my therapist more than I ever have. My panic attacks have increased.\u201d<\/p>\n The unpleasantness began last year, when the 48-year-old instructor said that school administrators called her into a meeting and said that multiple staffers had complained that the teacher smelled like cannabis. At that point, the educator said that she admitted to being a medical marijuana patient, but was adamant that she did not use cannabis at or before work.<\/p>\n In the weeks and months that followed, the special education teacher said that coworkers would stop her in the halls and ask invasive questions like, \u201cYou smoke weed?\u201d and, \u201cWhat do you use and why?\u201d Medical marijuana has been legal in Illinois since 2014, and adult-use pot sales are slated to start next month<\/u><\/a>, but the Romeoville educator said that weed\u2019s stigma was alive and well at her workplace.<\/p>\n