ONCE A FUGITIVE IN B.C., MEDICINAL-POT CRUSADER ARRESTED IN SAN FRAN

SAN FRANCISCO -- Medical-marijuana crusader Steve Kubby was arrested
Thursday night at San Francisco Airport after spending years as a
fugitive in B.C.

The arrest followed an emotional farewell earlier in the day at
Vancouver International Airport as Kubby reluctantly returned to the
U.S. to face a drug-related jail sentence.

Kubby's supporters and family were on hand as he boarded a flight to
California escorted by his American lawyer, who worried aloud that
Kubby, who suffers from a rare adrenal-gland cancer, could die
without access to pot in jail.

Kubby, 58, arrived from the U.S. in 2001 attempting to claim refugee
status on the basis of persecution, both for his political opinion
and his medicinal use of pot. He made a failed bid for governor of
California in 1998 under the Libertarian party banner.