POT SMOKER DENIED REFUGEE STATUS

The Canadian government refused to grant refugee status last week to a
California medical marijuana patient who claimed he faced political
persecution and would die in jail if he were returned to the United States.

Steve Kubby, 56, fled to British Columbia with his wife and two small
children after his arrest and conviction on drug charges stemming from a
1999 bust that uncovered 265 marijuana plants in the basement of his home
in Squaw Valley, east of Fresno.

Paulah Dauns, a member of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board,
concluded in a 71-page opinion that Kubby, who was diagnosed with adrenal
cancer in the late 1960s, "is not at risk of cruel and unusual treatment or
punishment, or a risk to his life."

She said Kubby had failed to demonstrate that it is even "remotely likely"
that he would die in prison from being cut off from his cannabis.

Kubby vowed to appeal the ruling, which he labeled "a cowardly decision."

"We're going to get this before a real court and a real judge," said Kubby,
a onetime magazine entrepreneur and medical marijuana activist who ran
unsuccessfully for governor of California in 1998 on the Libertarian
ticket. "We're just stunned by this. The logic is just so twisted."

Kubby's case stoked memories in western Canada of Vietnam-era draft dodgers
who fled north decades ago. It has also caused a stir in government offices
on both sides of the border.

Canada's Parliament and courts continue to haggle over marijuana. Canada
legalized medical marijuana two years ago and has talked of decriminalizing
recreational use.

In the United States, federal drug agents and prosecutors continue to press
charges against high-profile medical marijuana advocates in California, a
hotbed of the movement since state voters approved a landmark medical
marijuana initiative in 1996. Although California legalized medical
cannabis, federal law continues to consider the drug illegal for any use.

That uncompromising stand has prompted more than 100 U.S. medical marijuana
expatriates to stream into British Columbia in the past few years, Canadian
officials estimate. About a half-dozen have filed to become refugees.

Opponents of Kubby's refugee push said the ruling thwarted what could have
been a flood of refugee applications from American medical marijuana
patients. "It was worrisome, and I'm glad we won it," said Randy White, a
member of the Canadian Parliament who actively opposed Kubby.

Under Canadian law, Kubby now has 30 days to leave the country, but
deportation could be put on hold if he appeals Dauns' decision by filing
for judicial review by the federal court in Canada.

That legal process can take up to three years but would face long odds.
Melissa Anderson, an Immigration and Refugee Board spokeswoman, said the
federal courts overrule a refugee decision less than 1 percent of the time.

Kubby discovered that marijuana seemed to keep in check his rare malignant
cancer, which usually spreads through the vital organs and kills within
five years. Kubby has said he smokes about a dozen marijuana cigarettes a day.