'TERRIFIED' WIFE APPEALS FOR POT-SMOKING MATE TO REMAIN IN CANADA

Man Using Marijuana to Fight Rare Cancer Faces Death in U.S. Jail If
Deported, Wife Says

Michele Kubby made a last-ditch appeal yesterday to stay in
Canada.

She and her husband, Steve Kubby, medical marijuana advocates from
California, are facing deportation after exhausting all previous
avenues of appeal.

She appeared in Federal Court yesterday to argue on behalf of her
husband, who she said was too ill to attend court.

Kubby said they deserve a stay on their immigration removal order
because her husband, who suffers from a rare form of cancer and has a
medical certificate to use marijuana for treatment, faces possible
death in jail if returned to the United States.

It's an argument they've made previously in immigration and court
hearings to no avail.

Keith Reimer, a lawyer for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, told
Federal Court Judge Yvon Pinard there was nothing new in Kubby's arguments.

Steve Kubby came to Canada in 2001 after drug charges were laid
against him and was later convicted in California for possession of
mescaline and psilocin.

He was sentenced to three months in jail, but told he could serve it
through house arrest.

In 2002, immigration authorities issued the removal order on
criminality grounds against Kubby, who filed a refugee claim that
failed. A pre-removal risk assessment recently conducted found there
was no risk to Kubby if he was returned to the U.S.

Pinard told Michele Kubby yesterday that he may not be able to issue a
ruling before Jan. 12 - the day set for the family's removal, but that
authorities wouldn't act until his judgment is released.

Outside court, Kubby, with her 9-year-old daughter by her side, said
she's "terrified" that if her husband goes back to the United States,
he might die in prison.

"I'm not a lawyer. I'm just a mom and a wife and I'm very concerned
about what happened in that courtroom today. ... I need to ask the
Canadian people for help because I'm losing the battle to save my
husband's life."

Doug Hiatt, a Washington state lawyer, said it was "kafkaesque" for
courts in Canada or anybody else to think patients do not get treated
in U.S. jails.