U.S. MARIJUANA USERS SEEK CANADIAN HAVEN

VANCOUVER -- They say they're the political casualties of America's
so-called war on drugs, and they want Canada's Immigration Department to
make it official.

Citing persecution in their homeland because of attempts to grow, cultivate
or use marijuana for medical purposes, at least three Americans living in
B.C. have made refugee claims to stay in Canada.

Observers say the persecution allegations made by Steve Kubby, Ken Hayes
and Renee Boje, all Californians who were embroiled in high-profile court
cases in the United States, could bring a flood of would-be refugees.

"It's a war zone down there," said Ms. Boje, an illustrator who fled Los
Angeles three years ago after she was charged with growing and possessing
pot with the intent to distribute it. "It's a real political war against
people who are sick and people who are poor."

Ms. Boje, 32, said many other Americans are hiding out in Canada, waiting
to see how the refugee panel rules on these initial cases.

If the claimants are successful, Ms. Boje predicted a flood of similar claims.

Ms. Boje is fighting extradition to face drug charges in the United States
and has launched a refugee claim in the meantime. Last year, she married a
Canadian and now has a five-month-old baby. She said she never wants to
return to the U.S.

There have been reports that hundreds of Americans have crossed the border
into Canada in recent months after U.S. Attorney-General John Ashcroft
ordered clampdowns on medicinal marijuana clubs in states where voters have
passed measures approving them.

Particularly hard hit has been California, where Proposition 215 in 1996
allowed marijuana use with a doctor's recommendation.

Mr. Hayes, of Petaluma, Calif., last year won a court case in Sonoma
County, where he was acquitted of marijuana trafficking charges concerning
a buyers club he co-owned.

But right after his acquittal, federal drug agents began investigating the
club. He faces drug-trafficking charges that could put him behind bars for
life. In January, he fled to B.C. with his girlfriend and three-year-old
daughter. The United States has requested his extradition.

Mr. Kubby, who is a host of Pot TV, a Web site with breaking news about
marijuana issues, once ran for governor of California as a Libertarian
candidate. He was diagnosed with adrenal cancer in 1975 and has been
smoking cannabis "heavily" since the early 1980s to curb symptoms, said
Alex Stojicevic, his lawyer.

Mr. Kubby was flagrant about his pot use and eventually was charged with 11
counts of possession and trafficking. He was acquitted on all but two
possession charges, for which he was sentenced to four months.

Mr. Kubby fled to Canada before serving his sentence to take the job with
Pot TV. His refugee claim states that he smokes pot for medical reasons.
The United States has requested his return also.

Mr. Stojicevic, who is handling claims for Mr. Kubby and Mr. Hayes, said
the U.S. government has made it clear that it does not support marijuana
use for medicinal purposes. The lawyer predicted that many who use pot and
who are involved in growing and cultivation will seek asylum in Canada.

In the past, similar refugee claims haven't fared well, Mr. Stojicevic
said. He said he knew of three or four that were successful, but were
overturned by the federal court.

Hilary Black, a spokeswoman for the B.C. Compassion Club Society, said
Canada should accept the claims.

As Canada appears to be moving toward greater liberalization of its
marijuana laws, it's only logical that it should grant asylum to people who
are fleeing years of imprisonment south of the border, she said.

Ms. Boje likened the crackdown on marijuana users to other events in U.S.
history that prompted waves of immigration to Canada, such as the Vietnam
War and the slave trade.

"Canada has a history of protecting people in the United States from their
own government," Ms. Boje said.