cannabisnews.com: Drug Refugees










  Drug Refugees

Posted by CN Staff on June 25, 2002 at 15:09:38 PT
By Marnie Ko 
Source: Report Newsmagazine  

Canada's softball narcotics laws are drawing a new type of immigrant. For more than 20 years, Steve Kubby has suffered with a rare and usually fatal form of adrenal gland cancer. Early on, doctors gave him six months to live, but 1998 found him still alive, the Libertarian Party’s candidate for Governor of California. Meanwhile, he built a reputation as an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana and told countless newspapers and television programs that the weed has prolonged his life.
According to his wife, Michelle, marijuana “shrinks the tumor in his body. This is not for pain. It is literally to hold the cancer at bay.” To hold the law at bay, Mr. Kubby, 56, has had to move north. He now lives in Sechelt, on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast, where he has joined a growing population of U.S. drug law refugees. Steve Tuck, another ex- Californian, estimates the number at more than 100, drawn by Canada’s softer drug laws. "Refugees" is not a metaphor: both men have claimed legal refugee status to help them stay here. Mr. Kubby took refuge in Canada to escape American jail time. Auburn, California authorities had little sympathy for his medical condition, and charged him with marijuana possession and possession for sale, both felonies in the U.S. At Trial, a doctor from the University of Southern California swore that regular marijuana use was the only reason Mr. Kubby was still alive. He was acquitted of the felony charges, but convicted on one misdemeanor count of possessing a hallucinogenic mushroom. He was sentenced to 120 days in jail, and authorities would not allow him to bring his pot. Deciding the 120 days amounted to a “death sentence” without his marijuana, he decided to flee the U.S. with his wife and two small daughters. Denied permanent entry into Canada last month because of his California drug conviction, Mr. Kubby filed a refugee claim. He will remain in Canada until his immigration hearing, which may not be until next year. He also faces Canadian charges of cultivating marijuana, and possession for the purpose of trafficking, allegedly in connection with 160 marijuana plants found in his possession. That trial has also been adjourned, possibly until next year. Mr. Tuck, a disabled army veteran, recently allowed reporters to take a photo of the 115–square–foot room in his house that he uses to grow marijuana, which he smokes for pain and muscle spasms caused by a spinal injury. Soon after, he was arrested by Canadian authorities. Last month he was ordered to leave Canada voluntarily. He filed a refugee claim instead, and can remain in Canada until his hearing. Another American, Ken Hayes, faces several charges in the U.S. for growing pot and selling it through marijuana clubs. He was reportedly acquitted in 1999 on other charges relating to possession of 899 pot plants he planned to sell through a club. He too lives in B.C. and has filed a refugee claim. Whether the claims will succeed is anybody’s guess, but Renee Boje, another Sunshine Coast resident who said she uses marijuana for strictly medicinal purposes, is optimistic. “Canada,” she told reporters, “has a history of protecting people from their own governments.”Source: Report Newsmagazine - Alberta EditionAuthor: Marnie KoPublished: June 24, 2002Copyright: 2002 Report Newsmagazine Contact: ar incentre.netWebsite: http://www.report.ca/Related Articles & Web Sites:Kubby Fileshttp://www.kubby.org/Pot-TVhttp://www.pot-tv.net/Renee Boje's Home Pagehttp://www.reneeboje.com/Medical Marijuana Users Take Refuge in Canadahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12972.shtmlCanadian Court Rules Kubby Not Fugitivehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12887.shtmlCanada Arrests Third Pot Activist http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12604.shtmlCalifornia Men Face Hearing in Canada http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12562.shtml 

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Comment #6 posted by FoM on June 26, 2002 at 13:28:13 PT
lilgrasshoppah 
You're very welcome. I hope we win this war soon. I believe that history will show that marijuana prohibition will go down as one of the worst mistakes that were made in this past century. 
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Comment #5 posted by lilgrasshoppah on June 25, 2002 at 23:23:00 PT:
thanks FoM
On a mostly unrelated subject... I respect what you done in cannabis activism. keep up the good work.
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Comment #3 posted by releafer on June 25, 2002 at 20:45:27 PT

Not running from Pot Conviction
For those who don't know, Steve Kubby won his case against him for Medical Marijuana ... its the stupid mushroom charge and outright disdain for his health that drove Steve to Canada.Thankyou all Canadian citizens that make such a sacrafice to let Americans that don't agree, a place to reside while the madness in America continues.Thank Canada for safe passage of folks that refused Viet Nam draft in America and were able to live and work until the Americans finally gave-up that one!We hope you know your getting our best gowers and future American entrepmnuers in Cannabis. Take good care of them and resist the CRAZY AMERICAN GOVERNMENT!!
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 25, 2002 at 20:16:52 PT

lilgrasshoppah 
Welcome to C News. 
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Comment #1 posted by lilgrasshoppah on June 25, 2002 at 17:49:19 PT:

just signed up... but have been lurking for ages!
Speaking as a Canadian, it isn't so much Canada's "softball narcotic laws", as it is the US's HARDball narcotic policies, that make people like Steve Kubby flee north. (forgetting for a moment that cannabis is NOT a narcotic).I really wish that reporters would... you know... report. The crux of the case is not that Steve Kubby broke the law, and was prosecuted, and evaded prosecution. The crux of the case is that all of the things that the American Republic stood for are being threatened: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.More to the point, Mr. Kubby's life is being threatened. He did not "escape jail time", he escaped a death sentence.
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