PETALUMA POT GROWER SEEKS ASYLUM IN CANADA

A Petaluma man wanted by federal authorities on marijuana trafficking and
money laundering charges has applied for political asylum in Canada.

Kenneth E. Hayes, who successfully fought Sonoma County pot charges last
year, would face persecution for his political opinions should he be forced
to return to America, his Canadian attorney said.

Hayes, 34, was arrested in April in Vancouver, British Columbia, for
alleged immigration violations.

His attorney, Alex Stojicevic, said U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
agents were present when Hayes was arrested and asked to interview him, but
Hayes refused.

Hayes fled to Canada in January, shortly before DEA agents seized 200 pot
plants from his northwest Petaluma ranch.

The DEA operation included raids on a San Francisco marijuana buyers club
that DEA agents said was a front for "large-scale" drug dealing. Hayes
supporters say the club -- which continues to operate -- supplied pot under
Califor-nia's medical marijuana law.

Stojicevic said Hayes sought asylum "because he's being persecuted for his
actions and singled out."

Canadian immigration authorities will hold hearings in the next six to 12
months to determine whether Hayes is a political refugee under the
guidelines of the U.N. convention on refugees, Stojicevic said.

The charges against Hayes carry possible sentences of 20 years to life in
prison.

Stojicevic represents two other California men who face U.S. charges and
have applied for political refugee status.

Steve Kubby, the 1998 Libertarian gubernatorial candidate, and former
Humboldt County medical marijuana activist Steve Tuck also applied,
Stojicevic said.

"They have a well-grounded fear of persecution," he said.

All three men claim to need marijuana for medical purposes. Hayes and Tuck
said they also grow pot for use by other medical users.

Kubby, 56, was convicted of misdemeanor possession of peyote and acquitted
of marijuana charges in Placer County two years ago. He faces a four-month
sentence but says he would die without access to marijuana.

The state Justice Department is trying to upgrade his conviction to a felony.

Tuck, 36, faces six felony marijuana trafficking charges in Humboldt
County, where authorities rejected a medical claim he had successfully used
in a separate, earlier case.

Hayes and Kubby also face lesser charges of pot cultivation in Canada that
are awaiting outcomes in British Columbia courts.