KUBBY PLEADS TO STAY IN CANADA

Canada immigration authorities seem intent on sending Steve Kubby
back to the U.S., which could be a death sentence for the prominent
activist. Kubby, 58, suffers from a rare form of adrenal cancer that
has been in remission since the 1980s thanks to cannabis use. Judge
Yvon Picard will rule any day now on his last, desperate appeal to
remain north of the border.

Kubby and his wife Michele were busted in January '99 for growing 265
indoor plants (more than half of them unsexed seedlings) at their
home in Squaw Valley. Placer County prosecutors charged that the
plants were for sale to Bay Area clubs; the Kubbys maintained they
were for personal use.

Kubby's defense included a letter from Vincent DeQuattro, MD, the USC
Medical Center cancer specialist who had initially diagnosed his
cancer as pheochromocytoma, which is almost invariably fatal within a
few years. DeQuattro wrote that he'd been amazed to learn that Kubby
had survived when he saw his name listed as the Libertarian Party
candidate for governor of California in the 1998 Voter's Handbook

"I contacted him to determine how it was that he had survived all
these years," DeQuattro recounted. "He told me that he was treating
himself with the advice of his physicians in northern California with
marijuana and has been taking no other medical therapy for several
years." DeQuattro consulted another specialist who confirmed "that
every patient other than Steve with Steve's condition had died during
this interval of time. Steve was the only survivor."

DeQuattro hypothesized that "in some amazing fashion, this medication
has not only controlled the symptoms of the pheochromocytoma, but in
my view, has [also] arrested its growth." He also advised the court
that a very sharp spike in Kubby's blood pressure during his
three-day imprisonment following the bust suggested that the cancer,
though in remission, was still present in his adrenal system.

"Please consider the consequences of Steve's condition not being
controlled," DeQuattro wrote. "His tumor is manufacturing large
quantities of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and possibly epinephrine
(adrenaline). Either compound in minute quantities could kill him
instantly by causing sudden cardiac death due to arrhythmia or acute
myocardial infarction, or sudden death due to cerebral hemorrhage or
cerebral vascular occlusion."

A mostly female jury acquitted 11-1 on the sales charges but found
Steve Kubby guilty of misdemeanor possession of a peyote button and a
psilocybin mushroom turned up during the raid. (Kubby claimed they'd
been left by a guest.) Rather than risk four months' incarceration,
he left with his wife and children for British Columbia, and was
declared a fugitive by Placer County.

In 2002 Kubby got permission from Health Canada to grow 117 plants
and to possess 12 pounds for personal medical use; but he was denied
refugee status by the Immigration and Refugee Board in December 2003
on the grounds that he would not be "at risk of cruel and unusual
treatment or punishment, or a risk to his life" back in the U.S. The
ruling by Adjudicator Paula Jones was seen as a signal to U.S.
marijuana users not to consider Canada a political haven.
Prohibitionists on both sides of the border feared a wave of
political immigrants reminiscent of the war resisters (many of them
active-duty military personnel) who streamed north during the 1960s.

Kubby filed for judicial review by the federal court in Canada.
Another doctor - Joseph Connors of the BC Cancer Agency- examined
him in connection with this appeal and determined that marijuana use
was apparently protecting him from a fatal heart attack or stroke.
Again the legal authorities chose to ignore the medical expert. An
attorney for Immigration Canada, Keith Reimer, argued successfully
that there was no proof Kubby would be arrested if returned to the
U.S., and that prisoners in US jails receive adequate medical care.
Seattle attorney Douglas Hiatt attended Kubby's ultimate hearing
hoping to testify about the real conditions in U.S. jails and
prisons, but was not allowed to do so.

Steve Kubby played a key role in getting Prop 215 on the ballot. As
of January '96, Dennis Peron, the prime mover, had given up hope of
obtaining enough signatures. Kubby had a connection to George Soros's
lieutenant for drug-policy reform, Ethan Nadelmann. At Kubby's
suggestion, Nadelmann flew out to SF, assessed the situation, and
decided to underwrite a professional signature drive. Not at Kubby's
suggestion, Nadelmann hired a professional campaign consultant from
Santa Monica named Bill Zimmerman, who hired a signature-gathering
firm in Venice, and for about $800,000 they obtained 735,000
signatures by April. Republican secretary of state Bill Jones then
decided to recognize Zimmerman rather than Dennis as the Yes-on-215
campaign manager, and the co-optation process was underway.

Add Punishment Updates:

Robert "Duke" Schmidt has been ordered by the Bureau of Prisons to
report to Leavenworth Penitentiary to begin serving a four-year
sentence for cultivating cannabis in Sonoma County. Schmidt, 55, flew
back to Kansas at his own expense on Friday, Jan. 6.

Dear Rich Pothead,

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Kampia's invitation was forwarded to Keith Stroup, the founder of
NORML, who ruefully remarked that Hugh Hefner, NORML's original
backer, is now supporting MPP, his arch fundraising rival.

Don't gnash your teeth, Keith

What Hef digs is never cool

Accept your class fall.