In case you don't know, Steve Kubby has adrenal cancer. Medical

Marijuana has actually kept him alive for several years. In

California medical marijuana is legal. But when Kubby was found to be

growing and using it, the federal government raided his home. He

later fled to Canada. Now Kubby is to be ordered back to the US to

essentially serve his death penalty.

http://www.kubby.com/

http://marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=874

http://makeashorterlink.com/?C32C5168C

Posted December 30, 2005

Analysis by Richard Cowan

People in the US and around the world are properly disturbed by

allegations that the American government has violated the civil

liberties of various persons accused of terrorist activities. The

concern generally is not so much about the rights of the accused, who

are not particularly sympathetic, but for the potential abuses of

power that endanger everyone. There has been great concern

regarding "domestic spying" by the government.

Similarly, there was a great outcry around the world protesting the

execution of a convicted murderer in California. Again, the protests

were largely based on opposition to the death penalty. Indeed, so

many people on death row have been proven innocent, that even those

not philosophically opposed to executions have ceased to trust the

criminal justice system with matters of such finality.

Both of these concerns would seem to be more than justified in the

case of Steve Kubby, but – if the US and Canadian governments have

their way – he will be sent to die in the US in less than two weeks.

Two of the leading cancer specialists in the US and Canada have

confirmed that Kubby has malignant pheochromocytoma, a very rare

form of adrenal cancer, and that only cannabis has kept him alive for

decades longer than is typical in such cases.

From 1999, see

Prominent Cancer Specialist Says Steve Kubby Should Be Studied, Not

Jailed;His Case Has Major Medical Implications.

Nonetheless, he is under a Canadian departure order that will deliver

him to the US authorities on January 12, 2006, unless a stay is

granted in a hearing on January 9th. He will be jailed on a "no-bail

warrant" and eventually transported to Placer County, California. Of

course, he could also be held on federal flight charges and the US

government does not even recognize the existence of medical cannabis,

and denies that there is even a right to mention it in a US federal

court.

See

Facing January 12th Expulsion From Canada, The Kubbys Launch Legal

Assault On Refugee Process. Now Is The Time For Kubby's Supporters --

And Friends Of Freedom Everywhere -- To Rally Behind Them.

Consequently, within hours of being taken by the US, Kubby will

suffer excruciating headaches, nausea and other symptoms of soaring

blood pressure caused by unpredictable spikes in his adrenaline

levels.

See

A Critique of the Kubby Refugee Ruling: What Is It About Dead That

You Don't Understand?

Within a few more days – or perhaps just hours – he will suffer

irreversible kidney damage, and/or blindness and a stroke. Then, if

he is lucky, he will die. Steve Tuck, another medical cannabis

patient who was delivered to US authorities and held a week without

any medication, said that he would rather have died than endure even

a few more weeks of such torture, and his need for cannabis is not as

absolute as Kubby's.

And yet, no one seems to care, because Kubby is a medical cannabis

patient, and serious people simply cannot allow themselves to be seen

taking the cannabis issues seriously. Otherwise, their status

as "serious people" might be in danger.

For an improbable exception, see

WorldNetDaily Continues Its Critique of the Drug War with An Article

by Steve Kubby: "Bill Of Rights Is The Cure For Government Disease."

Outstanding!

Cynical?

How else can one explain such indifference to the extraordinary

violations of the laws of the US and Canada that have been committed

by law enforcement and the bureaucracies in two advanced countries?

We have had a serious debate over whether it is ever justifiable to

torture a suspected terrorist to save lives, but there is no debate

about torturing medical cannabis patients in order to save cannabis

prohibition.

Kubby's case has hardly been a secret, but it is still not "an

issue", and that is all the more remarkable when one considers that

Kubby himself is a very political person, having been one of the

principal backers of Prop 215, California's Compassionate Use Act for

medical marijuana, in 1996.

When it became apparent that the medical marijuana laws were being

defied by California law enforcement Kubby decided to become the

Libertarian Party candidate for governor of California in 1998.

From 1998 see

California Libertarian Gubernatorial Candidate and Medical Marijuana

Activist Kubby Denounces Jailing McCormick

In short, he did not become political after he was arrested. Rather,

he was arrested after he became political. Thus, his case would

appear to be that ultimate American taboo, a political prosecution.

Why then is this case not a political issue? Because it involves

cannabis?

Lawless law enforcement, rotting from the top.

See

After Lockyer Says He Won't Fight To Support Rights Under Prop 215

Former California Libertarian Party Gubernatorial Candidate And

Medical Marijuana Patient Steve Kubby Arrested On Cultivation

And "Conspiracy" Charges!

and

California Narks Lie to Justify Disobeying Prop 215. And They Lie

About Me In The Process.

In July of 1998, while Steve was running for Governor of California

on the Libertarian Party ticket, an anonymous letter was supposedly

sent from Long Beach to the Placerville Sheriff's Department.

An officer there forwarded this anonymous letter to neighboring

Placer County, where they lived, with a note which said, "…The

information is weak and non-specific, but I wanted to pass the

letter along in the event your narcotic enforcement team is

interested..."

Even though the author did not even know where the Kubbys actually

lived, within 24 hours an investigation was opened involving agents

in four counties and two states.

This letter was also crafted to elicit interest from the U.S.

Federal government, because of the large number of plants mentioned,

and it even claimed that the Kubbys fed their 2 year old daughter

cannabis on a regular basis! No one has ever claimed responsibility

for this letter and the Kubbys' attorneys believe it was actually

written by the police somewhere in California.

In addition, the letter alleged that Kubby funded his governor's race

with "pot money," even though his election finances were audited and

no violations of the election laws were ever found.

The multi-state taskforce continued its investigation for six months,

placing the Kubbys' home under surveillance, spying and even taking

pictures through their windows, and sorting through their garbage.

The Kubbys were tipped that they were being watched and started

putting notes in their garbage informing the police that they were

growing medical cannabis in accordance with state law.

No violations of any laws were ever established by the six months of

spying, but the police were still able to get a warrant. How?

On the warrant to search the Kubby home and arrest them, a DEA report

was cited which supposedly claimed that a (blond, fair-skinned)

journalist who was visiting the Kubbys was a Jamaican drug smuggler.

When the journalist later wrote the DEA and asked for a copy of this

report under the Freedom of Information Act - the DEA denied having

any such report. The Kubby trial judge refused to require the

prosecution present the report, and denied the defense motion for a

full evidentiary hearing on the issue.

Without this supposed DEA Report, the authorities had no basis for

their warrant. (Amendment IV in the Bill of Rights: The right of the

people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,

against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,

and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by

Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be

searched, and the persons or things to be seized.)

Instead, the search warrant and probable cause information to obtain

it acknowledges that the police were aware that Kubby was

an "outspoken advocate" for the medical use of marijuana.

Within their probable cause information the arresting officer had

stated that he had observed Steve (through Kubby's window) bringing a

potted plant into his living-room and displaying it to the supposed

Jamaican drug dealer, who touched it. That was cited as evidence

that Kubby was distributing marijuana, but the police never stopped

the journalist or anyone else leaving the Kubbys' home, and never

found any evidence of sales. The domestic spy also claimed that

Michele Kubby was visible at that time, but it was proven that she

was in Orange County at the time.

On January 19, 1999, twenty heavily armed officers from North Lake

Tahoe, the State of Nevada, and the DEA stormed the Kubbys' home at

gunpoint. They wore flack jackets and had laser guided assault rifles

which they shoved into the Kubbys' faces, even though the Kubbys had

no weapons and offered no resistance.

Kubby's indoor medical garden was completely destroyed by the police,

and they were told that Prop 215 did not apply in Placer County. Both

Kubby and his wife Michele were taken into custody and held for three

days, during which time Steve received no medical treatment of any

kind, and certainly no cannabis. Despite his having the legal right

to grow and use medical cannabis, the courts and the police refused

to return even a gram of his medicine.

The Placer County authorities charged them with a combined total of

19 criminal counts which would get them 25 years to life in prison.

They were originally held on $200,000 bail, but were released on

their own recognizance after Placer County officials were swamped

with protests.

The police also claimed that they found remnants of four peyote

cactus buttons as well as .058 grams of a psilocybin mushroom in a

film canister in a guest bedroom. Kubby had written a book on

psychedelics, so it was at least plausible that they were his, but he

was actually charged with (and ultimately convicted of) possession of

mescaline and psilocin, the active ingredients which the police

extracted in their lab. However, the presence of mescaline and

psilocin does not prove that the remnants from which they were

extracted were actually the prohibited items.

Long before he was convicted, Placer authorities even sent a spy to

record a speech Kubby made to a Libertarian convention in Missouri.

What did that have to do with his marijuana garden or the

psychedelics in his guest room?

After a four month trial, a jury of 12 people voted 11-1 to acquit

the Kubbys of all marijuana charges, and the DA recognized that he

could not get a conviction on the marijuana charges in a retrial. In

short, the original basis for the investigation, raid, and arrests

was completely discredited.

As noted, Steve was convicted for possession of the psilocin and

mescaline, even though those two substances had been extracted in a

lab and were not what the police actually seized. The result was a

felony conviction that the judge reduced to misdemeanor. However,

because Steve needs cannabis to live, even misdemeanor probation

would leave him vulnerable to another illegal raid, and he would have

no recourse if charged with a violation of probation. Given their

experience, they were unwilling to trust Steve's life to the good

will of California law enforcement, so with the court's permission,

they moved to Canada. This turned out to be a wise move, at least for

the time being.

On May 25, 2001, the Placer County District Attorney filed an appeal

in the Superior Court Appellate Division of Placer County against

the trial judge's decision to turn the convictions into

misdemeanors. This appeal, even if it were proper was filed three

weeks after the 30 day limit for filing a misdemeanor appeal had

expired.

The Peoples Notice of Appeal is Untimely.

To fix this problem, instead of requesting an extension of time from

the Superior Court appellate Division, two judges who had been

recused for cause and disqualified from the case, covered up the

errors of the prosecutor. The first judge, Roeder, (recused

specifically for bias and prejudice), did of his own motion, and

without advising either Kubby or his appeal of conviction lawyer,

altered the People's erroneous and untimely appeal to the status of a

felony appeal.

This appeal should have never happened in the first place. He was

formally convicted of misdemeanors and given probation. If the

prosecution was unhappy about the probation, its recourse by law was

confined to filing an application for review under writ of mandate.

On July 20, 2001, without sending the Kubbys any notice to show up in

court on July 20th, either from the court or from the public

defender, Judge Cosgrove holds a probation violation hearing. Not

being present, he puts out a no-bail bench warrant for Steve's

arrest as a "felony fugitive."

Consequently, the probation appeal should never have ever been

entertained or considered by any appellate Court, but because of the

type of appeal and Roeder having labeled Kubby a felon, the

California Third District Court of Appeal then ruled Kubby was

a "felony fugitive" – and would not let him appeal any aspect of his

case, especially its illegal conversion to a felony, unless he

appeared in person, which would result in his death.

Catch 22 was never more deadly. Despite their having provided

extensive evidence of illegal acts by judges and prosecutors, Kubby

cannot get a hearing in California courts -- because the very

illegal actions that he has exposed have made him a "felony

fugitive". How convenient for the real criminals!

Placer County authorities then fraudulently tell Canadian Officials

that Kubby is a "felony fugitive," and Canadian Immigration arrests

Kubby, forcing him to file for protection as a refugee. Even in the

refugee hearings, Placer County officials continued to flout

California laws.

On April 11, 2003, Chris Cattran, the Assistant DA from Placer

County, who prosecuted the Kubbys testified by phone, and offered an

insight into how arbitrary Placer's medical cannabis policies

remained. The county still had no written guidelines on the amount of

cannabis a patient may have, so patients could never know if they

were in compliance. If the police have decided that the patient has

too much they will simply arrest him and let a jury decide. In the

meantime, the patient is without medicine and has to pay for a

criminal defense, which most patients cannot afford.

Cattran explained that they had arranged for two "specialists" to fly

in and testify at the trial about Steve's condition and his use of

cannabis, but, at the last minute, the judge decided not to allow

them to challenge to Steve's doctors.

Perhaps one reason that the judge decided not to allow this challenge

was because the prosecution's doctors had never examined Steve.

Immigration Canada's attorney asked Cattran if he knew what these two

doctors – who had never even seen Kubby – were going to say.

Yes, he replied. They were going to say that Steve didn't have

cancer, but if he did, cannabis was contraindicated and would just

make his condition worse!

These are the people to whom Canada wants to return Steve Kubby!

See

Placer County, Still Murderous After All These Years. Kubbys Find

Secret "Death Warrant" Signed by Disqualified Judge. Key To Canadian

Refuge, If Not Justice In California.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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Meanwhile in Canada, the so-called "refugee protection system" is

arbitrary and capricious, and its officials act as though they are

above the law.

When Steve's refugee hearings first began, Immigration Canada

insisted that he be examined by the leading cancer specialist in BC,

to determine if he really has cancer and cannabis really helps him.

Of course, they were expecting the doctor to say just what Cattran's

quacks were prepared to say, but he confirmed both the diagnosis and

the effectiveness of cannabis. So what did Immigration Canada do

next? It pretended that their doctor's opinion simply did not matter.

They also refused to consider massive evidence of judicial and

prosecutorial misconduct by California officials.

Finally, in an absurdly misnamed farce called the "Pre-Removal Risk

Assessment" an utterly unqualified bureaucrat flatly lied when

confronted with sworn affidavits from two Washington State attorneys

about the treatment of Steve Tuck when he was renditioned to the

States. She claimed, "I am unable to find any trustworthy and

independent sources to corroborate that the individual concerned was

not given proper medical attention while jailed."

She was NOT UNABLE. She was UNWILLING EVEN TO LOOK at the

consequences of their own actions. She could easily have contacted

the lawyers and obtained the verification that she clearly did not

want. Does it matter that a Canadian bureaucrat lied about a matter

of life and death?

We may find out on January 9th. We will also find out between now and

then if the people who oppose violating the rights of terrorists and

the execution of murderers care about the rights of the innocent and

the "technicalities" of the rule of law in two countries.

If Steve Kubby dies, the real murderers will be those who remain

silent.

See

Cannabis Prohibition Is "Low-Intensity Warfare" Against Social Peace,

Individual Freedom and the Rule of Law. Be very afraid... Three

Lessons.