PATIENT TOUTS ANTI-CANCER PROPERTIES OF MARIJUANA

Had Experimental Treatments At Cross Cancer Institute

A new scientific study is the "smoking gun" that proves the anti-pot
crusade is a pack of lies and that medical marijuana works, says an
American cancer patient claiming refugee status in Canada.

Steve Kubby is celebrating the recent publication of a study in the
world-renowned science journal Nature showing cannabis shrinks certain
cancerous tumours in mice by shutting off the blood supply and
destroying cancer cells.

"I think it so clearly connects the dots and shows the cancer-fighting
properties of cannabis," he said yesterday. "I've just reached a point
in my life when I want to stand on the rooftops and shout to everyone,
'You are being lied to - this stuff really works and here's the
science to prove it.'"

Kubby, 56, began experimental treatments last year at Edmonton's Cross
Cancer Institute for a rare form of adrenal cancer. He lives in B.C.
with his wife and two daughters.

He has a federal exemption allowing him to grow and smoke pot but is
still awaiting an Immigration and Refugee Board decision on his
application for refugee status.

Kubby argues he'll be persecuted for his pot use if forced to return
to the U.S. The federal government's own doctor testified he'd likely
die of a stroke or heart attack if deprived of medical pot for more
than 24 to 48 hours, Kubby said.

The board's decision was expected by the end of this week but has been
delayed a few weeks by further submissions on both sides.

Kubby is outraged that U.S. drug czar John Walters has been invited to
address a Commons committee studying decriminalization. Walters has
not indicated if he'll accept the invitation.

"I understand that the Canadian government is getting an extreme
amount of pressure from the extremist Bush administration, but they
have to know that they are being lied to," Kubby said.

The invitation is a "wonderful" chance for Canadians to uncover the
American government's dishonesty about marijuana, said Richard Cowan,
former director of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws (NORML), a U.S.-based lobby group. Cowan now lives in
Canada.

"I think what they really need to do is have (Walters) go to Ottawa,
get him on the record and then check the facts," he said. "This way
they will see that they're being lied to."