LAST HOPE FOR U.S. POT USERS FIGHTING DEPORTATION

Wife Tells Court Ailing Husband May Die in Prison If Not Allowed To
Stay in B.C.

VANCOUVER - Michele Kubby made a last-ditch appeal Monday 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 on Monday 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 to no avail in previous immigration and
court hearings.

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.

Canadian immigration authorities issued the removal order against
Kubby -- who had filed an unsuccessful refugee claim -- in 2002 on
criminality grounds. A recent risk assessment concluded Kubby was at
no risk if he was returned to the U.S.

On Monday, Pinard told Michele Kubby that he may not be able to rule
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 nine-year-old daughter by her side,
said she's "terrified" that if her husband goes back to the U.S. 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 wrong for courts in
Canada or anybody else to think patients do not get treated in U.S.
jails.