POT USER'S REFUGEE BID IS REJECTED

Canadian Immigration Officials Say a California Marijuana Patient
Failed to Prove He Would Die in Jail If Returned to the United States.

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

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
Squaw Valley home.

Paulah Dauns, a member of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board,
flatly 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. Dauns concluded that his jailers almost certainly would take
pains to fulfill Kubby's medical needs and allow him access to marijuana.

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 U.S., meanwhile, 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. While California and
seven others 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 last few
years, Canadian officials estimate. About a half-dozen U.S. medical
marijuana patients 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% of
the time.

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

Medical marijuana was a centerpiece of Kubby's 1998 gubernatorial run.
But a few weeks after election day, a task force of Lake Tahoe drug
agents battered down the door of his home. Kubby claims he nearly died
during his three days behind bars as his blood pressure spiked.

Though a jury declared Kubby innocent of the marijuana charges, they
found him guilty of two misdemeanors for possessing a peyote button
and a psilocybin mushroom stem confiscated during the raid. Sentenced
to four months in jail, Kubby headed to Canada with his wife and two
young children. They set down roots in a scenic seaside community on
the rugged coast north of Vancouver, and Kubby remained a forceful
advocate for medical marijuana.

Back in the U.S., a judge in Placer County declared Kubby a fugitive
after he failed to appear to serve his sentence. Canadian immigration
officials, meanwhile, arrested him in early 2002 and issued a
conditional departure order, citing his U.S. conviction for the
mushroom stem. Peyote possession is legal in Canada and therefore not
a cause for deportation. Despite the immigration wrangling, Kubby won
a medical marijuana exemption from Canada's national health agency to
grow 117 plants and possess up to 12 pounds of dried cannabis for his
medical use.

Last year, at the behest of immigration officials, Dr. Joseph Connors
of the BC Cancer Agency examined Kubby and concluded that the drug was
somehow muzzling the worst symptoms. Without marijuana, Connors said,
Kubby could suffer a fatal heart attack or stroke.

If returned to the U.S. and jailed anew, Kubby contended during a
nine-day hearing before the refugee board that concluded in April, he
almost certainly would not be allowed to use marijuana and would die
within days.

Dauns countered in her ruling that no evidence came to light cementing
that U.S. law enforcement authorities were conducting a "witch hunt"
against Kubby, nor did he prove that he failed to receive a fair trial
in California. She concluded that it was very unlikely U.S.
authorities, who typically only pursue cases involving more than 500
marijuana plants, would try to prosecute Kubby for marijuana possession.

He also failed to establish that there existed any "exceptional
circumstance" that would warrant international protection under United
Nations rules on refugees. She said if he were returned to the U.S.,
it was very likely that his jailers would supply marijuana and
adequate medical treatment to ensure his survival.