Posted on 01/27/2006 7:47:51 AM PST by SmithL
RICHMOND, British Columbia - There was an emotional farewell Thursday at Vancouver International Airport as medical marijuana crusader Steve Kubby reluctantly returned to the California to face a jail sentence.
Kubby's supporters and family were on hand as he boarded a flight to California escorted by his American lawyer, who worried he could die without access to pot in jail.
"The officials in Canada might be sending him back to a death sentence," said Bill McPike.
Kubby, who ran for governor of California in 1998 under the Libertarian party banner, said U.S. officials don't understand his medicinal need for pot.
"The thought of people having an open animosity towards me, people that want to harm me, that want to bury their mistakes, that's very distressing," he said.
Kubby and his wife Michele had been fighting to stay in Canada almost since they arrived from the United States in 2001.
Kubby attempted to claim Canadian refugee status on the basis of persecution, both for his political opinion and his medicinal use of pot. He said he smokes the drug to alleviate symptoms of a rare cancer called pheochromocytoma, which causes the adrenal glands to produce massive amounts of adrenaline.
Kubby was diagnosed 20 years ago and is believed to be longest-living survivor of the disease.
He credits the use of marijuana for controlling his adrenaline levels and claims the drug is the only thing keeping death at bay.
Kubby was supposed to serve a 120-day sentence for a drug conviction handed down by a court in Placer County, near Sacramento. He faced marijuana charges but they were dropped after he successfully argued medical necessity.
However the court found him guilty of possessing peyote and a magic mushroom stem and ordered him jailed.
In rejecting the refugee claim, Paulah Dauns of the Immigration and Refugee Board agreed marijuana helps to control Kubby's cancer symptoms. But she didn't believe his life was at risk if Kubby was returned to the United States.
"I didn't think the officials from Canada would do that, because from what I understand, Canada has no death penalty," said McPike, who expects Kubby to be arrested when he appears at the Placer County courthouse next Tuesday.
It's not clear whether Kubby will face additional charges for fleeing the country, the lawyer added.
Marijuana advocate and former gubernatorial candidate Steve Kubby, a fugitive for several years, was arrested at San Francisco International Airport on Thursday night on a plane that arrived from Canada, San Francisco police said.
Kubby co-authored "Why Marijuana Should Be Legal" with marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal and in 1998 was the Libertarian Party candidate for governor.
... peyote and mushrooms??
This guy ain't the best poster boy for medical pot.
It doesn't seem to be all about medicinal Mary Jane, dude just wants to get high.
Not that I'm innocent, but there is a thing called control.
You know that for a fact? Maybe he's trying everything he can to stay alive. But we can't let that happen now can we.
ping
Ahhh, the old medical shrooms and Peyote defense...
I support medical pot but it's people like this that make it look like people just want to legalize their high. Another of the pot advocates, a lawyer if I remember correctly, also got busted with shrooms.
This guy is a cancer survivor, can't he get a Doctor to testafy that pot IS saving his life and maybe get him house arrest instead of the County lockup?
He will have access to all the pot he wants in jail.
Bong
Canada Ping!
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this Canada ping list.
LOL Bong!!!
Considering how high profile and in-your-face he was in Canada I'd be surprised if he didn't.
Having gone through chemo in the last year, I can assure you that other effective, legal drugs are now available.
i would hope so. i know there are a lot of people that go through chemo without smoking pot.
i hope you are okay now. :)
He has adrenal cancer, and the marijuana is the only thing keeping him alive. His jail sentence is, in fact, a death sentence.
Did the cops find peyote mushrooms, or shitake mushrooms? We may never know.
My uncle went through chemo and radiation a few years ago for a brain cancer and lost about 50 pounds.
they found peyote and 'magic' mushrooms. wish i had kept the original article. peyote is not used for anything but getting high, just like the 'shrooms.
It's pretty pathetic to claim to live in a free country while at the same time throwing people in jail for eating mushroom and smoking a cactus.
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