cannabisnews.com: Canada To Decide Status of Medical Pot Advocate Canada To Decide Status of Medical Pot Advocate Posted by CN Staff on December 07, 2003 at 07:44:41 PT By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer Source: Auburn Journal Fugitive medical marijuana advocate Steve Kubby — who has said the 120-day jail term he has been ordered to serve in Placer County on misdemeanor drug charges would be a death sentence — expects to learn Monday whether he’s entitled to permanent refugee status in Canada.A resident of the Canadian province of British Columbia since 2001, the medical marijuana advocate and former Libertarian candidate for governor said Friday that he’s “cautiously optimistic.” Kubby failed to show up at North Auburn’s Placer County Jail in July 2001 to start serving a 120-day sentence on convictions for possession of small amounts of peyote and magic mushrooms. After a four-month trial, Kubby was acquitted in 2001 on charges he grew 265 pot plants at his Olympic Valley home for personal profit. Kubby has been diagnosed with a rare form of adrenal cancer that he says heavy, regular marijuana use controls.Now a co-anchor for the Internet’s Pot-TV news program with his wife, Michele, Kubby said he expects the Canada Immigration and Refugee Board decision to come Monday. Both he and his wife contend they are entitled to permanent refugee protection in Canada. Kubby stated that the decision, if it goes his way and is not reversed on appeal, would be unprecedented in Canada.“We’re cautiously optimistic that this will be a historic win,” Kubby said. “But we have no indication at this time of the actual decision.”Meanwhile, Placer County officials — including Sheriff Ed Bonner and District Attorney Brad Fenocchio — are expressing satisfaction with the dismissal of a civil rights lawsuit filed by the Kubbys in federal court over their treatment by the county. Kubby maintained that he nearly died while being incarcerated in the Placer County Jail after the Jan. 19, 1999, raid on his home.A federal judge dismissed much of the lawsuit last year and Michele Kubby recently agreed to dismiss remaining portions of the suit. Federal District Court Judge Morris England signed the order of dismissal. The judge’s decision disallows the Kubbys from filing another claim.“We always believed this case had no merit, as this outcome has demonstrated,” Bonner said.“The Kubbys’ civil suit has finally and completely resolved for exactly what it was worth — nothing,” Fenocchio said.The suit named several county officials, including prosecutors Gene Gini and Chris Cattran, and Deputy Mike Lyke, who prepared the affidavit that led to the drug conviction. Gini was recently appointed a Superior Court judge in Placer County.Deputy County Counsel David Huskey, who handled the case for the county, said the Kubbys never really pursued the case after filing it. “Judge England did the right thing because there was no evidence of any wrongdoing by anyone associated with the arrest and prosecution of the Kubbys,” Huskey said.In a phone interview Saturday, Steven Kubby explained why he did not proceed with the complaint. “We dismissed (the case) because Placer County refused to accept any testimony from us unless it was done in person,” he said. Kubby said he feared that if they returned to this jurisdiction, his wife would be arrested and prosecuted for providing aid to him and others who need medical marijuana to stay alive. “We had a gun to our heads,” he said.Note: Placer County fugitive Kubby seeks refuge, drops lawsuit against county.Journal News Editor Rick Tuttle contributed to this report.Source: Auburn Journal (CA)Author: Gus Thomson, Journal Staff WriterPublished: Sunday, December 07, 2003Copyright: 2003 Auburn JournalContact: dericr goldcountrymedia.comWebsite: http://www.auburnjournal.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:The Kubby Defense Fundhttp://www.kubby.org/The Drug War Refugees http://freedomtoexhale.com/smk.htm Lawsuit Dismissed in Placer Marijuana Raidhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17924.shtmlKubbys Await Refugee Ruling http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17775.shtmlMedical Marijuana User Claims Persecution http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15907.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #12 posted by The GCW on December 07, 2003 at 14:06:05 PT Here is one that should catch Our attention! (I can not recall hearing a story like this in Colorado)http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1884/a03.html?397US CO: Medicinal Marijuana ConflictPubdate: Sat, 06 Dec 2003 Source: Steamboat Pilot & Today, The (CO)Resident's Plants Were Seized In A Raid, But He Is Registered As A Legal User Don Nord, 57, moves his heavy form slowly, step by step, as he carries a box of firewood up to his Hayden townhome. When he reaches the top step, he stops to catch his breath. Inside, his home is dark. In the living room, a hospital bed and easy chair are aimed at a large television, which is turned on. Nord sits down at his kitchen table and hooks himself up to an oxygen tank. For Nord, each day can be measured in a series of pains. Since a fall in 1985, in which he hurt his neck and was put out of a long-term job, his health has deteriorated. He has battled kidney cancer, diabetes, a lung disease, phlebitis -- an inflammation of veins -- in both of his legs, and now is worried cancer has moved to his prostate. He takes about 20 different physician-prescribed medications. He also smokes marijuana. Although a physician can't prescribe the drug, the state does allow Nord to register as a legal user and grower of marijuana for medicinal purposes. "I smoke marijuana to help me relax at night, so I can go to sleep at night," he said. "Otherwise, I don't sleep." In mid-October, officers with GRAMNET, the Grand, Routt and Moffat County Narcotics Enforcement Team, obtained a warrant to search Nord's home for drugs and confiscated his plants and growing equipment. On Monday, Nord has a hearing in front of a Routt County judge to try to get his plants and equipment back. Conflicting state and federal laws may make that difficult. Under federal laws, Nord can't have the marijuana. Period. But under Colorado's law, he hasn't done anything wrong. The rules In 2000, Colorado voters approved a law allowing people suffering from debilitating medical conditions, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma and chronic severe pain, to smoke marijuana. That clause is now written into the state's constitution. Colorado is one of eight states that allow medicinal use of marijuana. The practice also is accepted in Hawaii, Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Maine. Science shows that smoking marijuana can help relieve nausea, appetite loss and pain that people with severe illnesses experience, said Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group trying to remove criminal penalties for marijuana use. "The long-term trend has got to be toward allowing seriously ill people to use marijuana with a doctor's recommendation," Mirken said. Nord, along with 280 other Coloradans, is a registered marijuana user through the Medical Marijuana Registry program, which is administered by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. To get on the registry and receive an identification card, a Colorado resident with a debilitating illness that can be eased by use of marijuana must submit a letter from a doctor and a $140 fee. Being on the list isn't a go-ahead to grow acres of marijuana, though. The Colorado law specifies that a registered user can have no more than 2 ounces of a usable form of marijuana and no more than six marijuana plants, only three of which can be mature. It gives no suggestions for how registered users legally can obtain the marijuana or plants. According to statistics updated a week ago by the state health department, the average age of applicants for the registry is 45. Almost 70 percent are male. Almost 40 percent of the registered applicants live in the Denver-metro and Boulder areas. In Routt County, there are three registered applicants. Nord has been part of the registry since Aug. 28, 2002. To date, there have been no marijuana-related convictions of patients or caregivers listed on the registry, according to the health department's updated report. "However, reluctance to participate due to the inconsistencies between state and federal marijuana laws has been expressed by doctors and patients alike," the report stated. Federal supremacy To the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the inconsistency is not an issue; in the DEA's eyes, it simply does not exist. That's because federal law does not permit marijuana use, said Dan Reuter, special agent and public information officer for the DEA's Denver field division. "We really don't see it as a conflict because our mission is clear and our mandate is clear," Reuter said. The mandate, he said, is to crack down on users, sellers and producers of illegal drugs, including marijuana. The federal supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution says that federal law overrides state law whenever the two conflict, which means that Colorado's medicinal marijuana law doesn't hold up in federal courts, Reuter said. That's something the DEA does not want to change. No other medicinal drug comes in a smokeable form, and marijuana is addictive and dangerous, he said. Plus, there is a legal marijuana pill on the market called Marinol. "There's really no excuse for using marijuana," Reuter said. "It's not a bridge to a better place; it's not medicine." In Nord's case, some of the officials who searched his house were part of GRAMNET, a federal task force that Reuter said should follow federal law. Reuter said he is aware of at least 10 other instances in Colorado in which federal officers searched someone for drugs and then found the person was registered with the state's medicinal marijuana program. In those cases, the officers seized plants, drugs and growing equipment and did not return them. In Nord's case, as well, Reuter said, administration officials have decided the confiscated drugs and equipment should not be returned. The search Attorney Kristopher Hammond is representing Nord at the hearing Monday in front of Routt County Judge James Garrecht. He said that the search warrant and charges against Nord were filed through a state court with a state judge, and so he believes that state law should be followed. That means, he said, Garrecht should order that the usable marijuana, marijuana plants, paraphernalia and growing equipment be returned to Nord. "I'm hoping the judge follows the Colorado Constitution, which requires the police to give the stuff back," Hammond said. "It requires them to take care of it and to return it." The state law that Hammond referred to says that any property connected with the use of medicinal marijuana "shall not be harmed, neglected, injured or destroyed while in the possession of state or local law enforcement officials where such property has been seized in connection with the claimed medical use of marijuana." It also states the property should be returned "immediately" when officials decide the user was legally registered and that charges would not be pressed. The search at Nord's house took place Oct. 14. A warrant for the search was issued by Garrecht. Hayden Police Chief Jody Lenahan said officers were expecting to find a large growing and selling operation in Nord's house. But they didn't. They found three marijuana plants, a baggie with some usable marijuana at the bottom, and dried marijuana leaves, which Nord said he was using for fertilizer, in a closet along with seeds, some growing equipment and several other items. After the search was finished, Nord was issued a ticket charging him with possession of between 1 and 8 ounces of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court documents. The ticket, which called for a court appearance Nov. 4, was not turned in to the courts until Nov. 6 because it was misplaced, Lenahan said. Garrecht dismissed the charges Nov. 17 because they were filed late. Charges could be refiled, however, if officials desired. Deputy District Attorney Marc Guerette, who is representing GRAMNET in the case, first filed a response to Hammond's Nov. 17 motion Nov. 20. In that response, Guerette contended that under Colorado law, a person with a medical marijuana license can possess no more than 2 ounces of usable marijuana, so that any amount seized exceeding 2 ounces should not be returned. Guerette then changed his motion five days later to state that, after consulting with the U.S. Attorney's Office and GRAMNET detectives, it was apparent that the return of drugs and equipment would be against federal law. The amended response asked the court to deny Hammond's motion to return the property. "GRAMNET is required not to return the property because ... possession of ( the property ) is a violation of federal law, and GRAMNET is a federal agency," Guerette said. If the judge denies the request, Hammond said he and his client will appeal to a higher court. Both Guerette and Hammond agree the case is novel for the state. Depending on how far it goes in the legal process, it could set a precedent for other conflicts between state and federal rules on medicinal marijuana. The waiting game Nord's grow room is now mostly empty, except for a few florescent tube lights and pots of leftover soil. Nord spends his days as he did before the search, watching television, driving to the post office and running errands, and sometimes visiting or talking on the phone with friends. Sitting in his living room, he's surrounded by paintings and statues of eagles, which he said give him a feeling of freedom. There's a Bible on the mantle above the fireplace, and a picture of Jesus that reads: "Jesus, I trust in you." God, Nord said, helps him deal with his loneliness and pain. So does marijuana, he said. Without his plants, during the past few weeks he's had to find the drug where he can. He said he knows that the medical marijuana card he carries is a privilege, so he is careful to stay within the parameters of the state law. When his house was searched, he said he felt confused and upset. "I didn't know what I did wrong," he said. "I said to them that day I didn't know I did something wrong. I said that over and over. "After they left, I broke down pretty hard. It made me feel like I didn't want to be here anymore." He wouldn't mind officials looking around his house to make sure he's legal, he said. And, though he used marijuana when he was younger, he says he's not proud of that and doesn't think anyone without medicinal reasons should use the drug. What he wants from the hearing on Monday is to get his plants and equipment returned. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Virgil on December 07, 2003 at 13:46:43 PT The great battle As the year draws closer to its end, I would like to see an intellectual article at painting the picture of CP at this time. There was a good series on WW2 where they presented the situation on both sides and detailed the weaponary with numbers and capability. They would outline the generals and troop strengths and maybe even the terrain or the weather. That is kind of what shocks me, is that an intellectual does not undertake the expression of showing the CP situation. I for one know how it will end with the Logical Conclusion, but the timing of its demise is highly questionable although certain.There was a book for sale a long time ago at the library for 10 cents titled "The Reason Why." It undertook to explain the situation that lead up to the charge of the Light Brigade. It took place in the Crimean War when England would test its dominance abroad while Russia would test its dominance across the border.This was in a time when the Calvary determined the strenght of an army and when Calvary met it was something like the lines of a football team crashing into each other to see who could push back a wall of flesh to gain advantage. When calvary charges calvary, there would be a great clash that revealed the energies of the two camps.But what made the event of the Battle that lead to the charge of the light brigade, was witnessed by people on high that could see two huge calvalries on opposite sides of a mountain. Neither the British nor the Russians new the presence of the other but the onlookers knew what was about to happen and could not help but be transfixed that they were privy to such a special event when the players themselves did not know what was about to happen.I see the situation on CP much as someone looking on high because like everyone else we are following the efforts of the troops and generals here at Cnews. It is an historic time as both armies are on the field and even the media will cannot hold silence when the great clash occurs. It could be a Canadian Supreme Court ruling or Dennish Kucininch in a debate, or GW extracts that signals the final push is coming.The sorriness of the media is a lesson that many have come to see and with the Internet we have a dependable line of supply for news. I cannot express how pleased I am that the NOW program is available at PBS.org for anyone that wants to explore a new personal reality.We have reason and the call of freedom and the support of the majority of our citizens and the horrors of the failure of the last 66 years of federal CP on our side. On the other side we have people of money and power with widespread corruption, dishing out taxpayer money from a pit that is not bottomless as they would have you believe. They have a media whose weakness has been flanked that can either wither on their islands of lies and though herding or surrender to the cause of returning the country to the people.A great clash is coming. We are all lucky to be witness to it here at Cnews. We have to win this battle so that we might go on to turn an upside down world right again.$4.20 for Dennis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 07, 2003 at 13:07:14 PT Virgil That was good about the singing but I'd never say that! LOL!No more news so far today to post. I look at articles and none of them seem important enough to post. We here at CNews are spoiled in a way. We expect good articles or at least I think we do. I don't read many news articles anymore if they don't have substance. I want quality. I think we all do. I hope I am right and others feel the same way I do. I'd rather not post something then to post something that isn't interesting to the majority of CNews readers. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by jose melendez on December 07, 2003 at 12:47:53 PT confetti grenades These obfuscations are why we can't just leave the country to restore our freedom.I've been thinking about Soros' "no shots fired" coups, and wondered if chalk can be sprayed, so there's no property damage. Also, has anyone got ideas on how to make confetti grenades? Think tiny little colorful messages that say "wage drug peace" or "FREE TOMMY CHONG" prohibit THIS [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Virgil on December 07, 2003 at 12:43:45 PT Only one article today? Kind of news itself. The silence doctrine was sure to obscure the DK announcement on the regulation of cannabis, but you would think one editorial in some media including the Internet would paint a picture on the cannabis world and set up the event where he says to the crowd- "Cannabis Prohibition is WRONG and Cannabis Prohibition must end."Isn't Sunday the intellectuals are supposed to share their individual brilliance that seperates us as pundits and non? I read at DU where George Carlin said to think of how stupid the average person is and then think of the half that are below average. Why aren't the pundits telling the lower half how to think on CP? Well, the Nazi press knows it is too important and too wrong to raise the issue. It looks like we might make it through 2003 without a major poll to answer the question, "Should marijuana be regulated in a manner similar to alcohol and tobacco?"FoM, if you are ever near someone singing, it is a common smartass remark to say "I used to wish I could sing, but now I wish you could sing."$4.20 for Dennis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Nuevo Mexican on December 07, 2003 at 10:51:28 PT We all need protection FROM the U.S. Goverment! Question: What country can kill 9 children 'mistakenly' and get away with it?If you don't know the answer, my point will be lost on you.Show this article to the Canadian Government, and ask them what makes it safe for any American to live here, when we kill, main, and brutalize foreign citizens, with impunity, and for what, to literally overthrow a sovereign government for their oil. Saddam and his cohorts are much more benign than the U.S. government any day, (how many people outside of Iraq has Saddam killed, versus how many people 'outside' of the U.S. the U.S. kills, whether overtly, of covertly). NO comparison. We hold the record folks!I, for one, don't feel safe living in the belly of the beast. Bush is the biggest terrorist ever created on the planet Earth, and I don't think anyone would even argue the point as they would've six months ago. Even John Kerry has admitted that noone (except everyone who voted for Gore or Nader) thought bush would F**k things up so bad. What took him so long to make this statement, we've been saying this BEFORE the election.The rich Dems don't have a clue folks. Too little, too late!What a real President would do under these circumstances, if he truly has compassion and has a conscience:Kucinich to Ask for Investigation of Air Attack in Afghanistan "I will ask for an investigation to determine the circumstances in which the nine children died. This incident is damaging to world peace. Last year an American flying gunship attacked a wedding party in Afghanistan killing 48 people."In the name of fighting terrorism, the Bush administration has killed thousands of innocent civilians, including many children. The Bush administration turned what should have been an international criminal investigation into a war. It has set aside international laws. It has not found Osama bin Laden."Considering the amount of time the Bush administration allegedly spends on surveillance, the deaths of these nine children cry out for an explanation -- and an investigation."Kucinich is the Ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations. He will ask the Subcommittee to hold an investigation of last night's air attack. Kucinich will be contacting members of the Subcommittee to ask them to join in this call for an investigation. http://www.kucinich.us/pressreleases/pr_120703.phpFirst thing on his web page, this man knows how to 'prioritize!' (Andrew Card was just on CNN, propping up bush, as even Wolf Blitzer is embarrassed to be in cahoots with these blatant war criminals, the ship is sinking!)http://www.kucinich.us/index.phpWhat Karmic lessons for America will follow this despicable act of inhumanity? If we don't speak out against these atrocities, we are complicite in allowing them to continue. And what a karmic lesson it will be! Remember, astrologically, bush was born at the 13th degree of Cancer, and the U.S. is a 13th degree (30 degrees in each sign) Cancer country. His 'chart' or destiny, is overshadowing the best of what this country stands for, and highlights the worst aspects of our past, genocide, slavery, and oppression of non-whites. We will bear the brunt of bushes Karma, as it seems God, or the'all that is' is testing the American people to see if we will stand up to him and stop the madness, or sit by and allow it to continue. It is 'WE' who are being tested, will we pass or fail? At the very last minute (NOW), we will RISE to the occasion, and take our country back, at least thats what the stars say.If you don't know your chart, just go to Astro.com! It's free! The wise man rules his stars!http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&e=3&u=/ap/20031207/ap_on_re_as/afghan_attack [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by jose melendez on December 07, 2003 at 10:24:11 PT Someday on sports TV: the Marc Emery Golf Cup from: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1885/a07.html?397" . . . a retired dentist in Hawaii who suffers from multiple sclerosis write to tell me he read one of my columns, tried marijuana and has gone from being confined to a wheelchair and living with incredible pain, to playing 18 holes of golf . . ." presidential candidates click here [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Max Flowers on December 07, 2003 at 10:17:00 PT US authorities take note... If Canada sends them back and then Steve dies in your custody just as he is claiming he will, with all their medical risks and opinions and info lined up and documented, Michele will have grounds for a historic, massive lawsuit against you... just something to think about... CANADA, we pray you will do the RIGHT thing hereMF [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Max Flowers on December 07, 2003 at 10:12:56 PT OverwhelmSam I'm sure you meant to say you'd like nothing MORE... [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on December 07, 2003 at 09:53:36 PT I Wish The Kubby's The Very Best Good Luck Steve and Michele! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by global_warming on December 07, 2003 at 08:48:42 PT Hope The Kubby's Find Refuge I hope they get refugee status..Here are some links that some may find interesting..http://mediafilter.org/guest/Pages/October.27.2000.19.24.31http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/bp185-e.htmhttp://www.tv.cbc.ca/newsinreview/dec97/gypsies/refugee.htm Peace -gw [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by OverwhelmSam on December 07, 2003 at 07:54:29 PT: Don't Hold Your Breath I personally would like nothing less than to see Steve achieve rufugee status, but I just don't see the Canadian government allowing this to happen. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment