KUBBY FAILS TO APPEAR FOR JAIL SENTENCE

Medical marijuana advocate and former Libertarian Party gubernatorial
candidate Steve Kubby remains free after failing to show up Friday at
North Auburn's Placer County Jail to begin serving a 120-day sentence.

Now a resident of Canada's Sechelt, British Columbia, Kubby said
Saturday that "nothing has been settled in court" and he's now being
threatened by law enforcement with either "becoming a fugitive or
being murdered in their jail."

Kubby won acquittal earlier this year on charges that he grew 265 pot
plants at his Olympic Valley home for personal profit but was
convicted on two other drug charges.

Kubby was told by jail officials in April that he wouldn't be able to
smoke cannabis while serving time on the two drug charges he was
convicted of.

Kubby produced expert witnesses during a lengthy pot-possession-for-sale
trial last fall to back his contention that heavy marijuana smoking
keeps a rare form of cancer he suffers from at bay.

With Kubby absent, Assistant Public Defender asked Placer County
Superior Court Judge John Cosgrove for a further extension of Kubby's
surrender date.

Cosgrove had already moved Kubby's surrender date from May 11 to
provide enough time for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the use of
medical marijuana. The court ruled there was no evidence that
marijuana was medically beneficial. The ruling provided a clear
indication to Placer County Jail authorities that Kubby couldn't be
given marijuana or its synthetic derivative while serving his sentence.

"My wife and I have given up 2 1/2 years of our lives, most of our
worldly possessions, our house, our reputation and over $250,000
raised and spent in our defense," Kubby said. "We've answered every
deceitful and despicable charge and showed the world that we were innocent."

Mumma said Friday that Kubby is now seeking an attorney to handle an
Appeals Court case on whether two charges he was convicted of n
possession of peyote and possession of magic mushrooms n should be
felonies or misdemeanors. Cosgrove had reduced the convictions to
misdemeanors. The state Attorney General's Office has given
preliminary approval to move forward with an appeal to return them to
felonies.

If someone doesn't show up for a jail sentence, an arrest warrant is
normally issued soon afterward. A check with Auburn Police on Saturday
indicated a warrant had yet to be issued for Kubby's arrest.

Prosecutor Chris Cattran said Friday during the hearing before
Cosgrove that he felt the latest motion to extend Kubby's date of
surrender was another delaying tactic by the defendant. Kubby had also
failed to register with the county Probation Department, pay any fines
imposed by the court, or advise the court of any move he has made out
of the county, he added.

Cosgrove ruled there were no adequate grounds to permit a stay or
continuance of the case.