COUPLE FILES 'LIFE AND DEATH' WRIT

Sunshine Coast "pot exiles" Steve and Michele Kubby have filed a writ with
B.C. Supreme Court seeking an exemption from charges laid against them
after police found marijuana plants at their Sechelt home.

The couple are due to appear at Sechelt provincial court on July 16 on
charges of production of a controlled substance and possession for the
purpose of trafficking.

This week the Kubbys filed for a writ calling for an exemption based on
"life and death" medical grounds.

They are also applying for marijuana seized by the RCMP to be returned.

"Cannabis keeps me alive" said Kubby, in an interview. "I'm hoping that a
judge will say under the Charter of Rights, we have the right when we're
clearly in a medical need to do what we were doing without being treated
like criminals."

The Kubbys moved to the Sunshine Coast last year with their two children,
aged six and two.

Steve Kubby was arrested on an immigration warrant in April after coming to
the attention of Sechelt RCMP in media reports about medical marijuana.

U.S. officials want Steve Kubby to serve a four-month jail sentence for a
California conviction for possessing a trace amount of a hallucinogenic
mushroom.

Kubby says that isn't possible because he wouldn't be allowed access to the
marijuana he says is keeping him alive.

Following an immigration hearing on the Lower Mainland, the couple returned
to the Coast and applied for political refugee status as members of a
persecuted social group.

Their application is expected to take some time to be processed but they
are also facing criminal charges for production of a controlled substance
and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

They issued a writ to B.C. Supreme Court this week after hearing that an
applicant was successful in a similar case that came before the B.C.
Supreme Court at the end of June.

Steve Kubby says that he will apply for legal aid but is expecting to have
to represent himself in court.

The writ says that, "the Controlled Drugs and Substances act fails to
adequately exempt persons from criminal liability who possess or produce
marijuana for personal or medical use."

It also states that adjourning the application until after a criminal trial
would "further aggravate the applicant's condition and/or cause his
premature death."

A preliminary hearing is due to take place at Chilliwack Supreme Court on
July 15, one day before the Kubbys are due to appear in Sechelt provincial
court.

"We've tried to follow the rules every step of the way," said Michele Kubby.