Breaking News on the Steve Kubby Case

We’ve been reporting on the status of medical marijuana user Steve Kubby. An overview provides:

Kubby suffers from a fatal condition known as malignant pheochromocytoma. That he has survived by use of marijuana is a topic of intense curiosity by medical experts, who are not allowed to experiment with the politically incorrect but potentially life saving medication.

After being arrested on drug charges in the late 90s, Kubby eventually went into exile in Canada in the spring of 2001. Today, he is under a Canadian departure order that will deliver him to the U.S. authorities on January 12. The Kubbys plan to appeal this order three days prior to the extradition date. If forcibly returned to the United States, Kubby will be immediately jailed and deprived of the medication which keeps him alive.

Kubby has twice been held behind bars for a few days, and he nearly died both times. This time, it is expected that he would spend 90 days in jail. According to his family, this will almost certainly prove fatal to Kubby.

Michele Kubby (Steve’s wife) just e-mailed the following:

We’ve just learned that Judge Pinard has dismissed our appeal for an emergency stay. We are currently evaluating the decision and will issue a formal press release before the end of the day.

“The Removal Order is now back in effect and our beautiful family again faces deportation and the public execution of our beloved Steve by Placer Official who are anxious to bury their mistake,” said a distraught Michele Kubby.

More to follow…

And here is the press release, as promised:

Judge Says Cancer Victim, Steve Kubby, Must Be Sent to US.

Denies Appeal to Stop Removal Order. Claims Kubby Will Not Be Arrested Despite Statement by California Prosecutor. Claims Prop 215 Protects Patients, Despite Fact No US Jails Allow Medical Cannabis Use. Family Fears He Will Die in US.

For Immediate release January 20, 2006
For more info call:
Michele Kubby (250)578-8422

VANCOUVER — Canadian Federal Justice, Yvon Pinard, ruled today that Immigration Canada may now proceed with its attempt to send Steve Kubby, cancer patient and medical marijuana refugee, to die in an American jail. Immigration Canada is expected to issue a new removal date, presumably sometime next week.

Angry and distraught, Michelle Kubby said, “Justice Pinard simply ignored the statements by the Placer County Prosecutor that Steve would be jailed, if he is forced to return to the US. (Kubby was prosecuted by Placer County in 1999 after a six month surveillance of the Kubbys’ home based solely on an anonymous letter.)

“He also completely misrepresented California laws regarding medical marijuana. No jail in the US allows the use of medical marijuana. My husband’s life hangs in the balance, but Justice Pinard ignored blatant lying by Immigration officials.

“We attempted to file an appeal to the Federal Court of Appeals, but were denied. If Canadian judges ignore both the facts and the law, we can only count on the Canadian people to contact their politicians. Unfortunately, Canada is in the middle of an election campaign in which even the plight of Canadians who need medical cannabis does not seem to be an issue.

“Still, we can only plead with the people who hear about our situation to call those Ministers who can stop Immigration Canada from killing my husband. All we need is time in Canada to clear Steve’s name in the US. Please phone or fax the Ministers of Immigration, Health, Justice and Public Safety,” said Mrs. Kubby.

Joe Volpe, Minister of Immigration, Voice: (613) 954-1064, Fax: (613) 957-2688
Ujjal Dosanjh, Minister of Health, Voice: (613) 995-7052, Fax: (613) 995-2962
Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice, (613) 992-4621, Fax: (613) 990-7522
Anne McLellan, Minister of Public Safety, (613) 991-2924, Fax: (613) 952-2240

posted Jan 20th, 2006 by Stephen Gordon
  • http://kafene.org/ Matt

    The government has never felt any shame about murdering people, directly or indirectly. No reason this would be any different..

  • http://crisericson.com Cris Ericson

    If Steve Kubby, medical marijuana cancer patient, and Marc Emery, Prince of Pot, marijuana seed-seller-by-the-sea,
    are put in prison in the United States, then they may have the Kind of the Drug War, President George W. Bush, as a cell mate. On December 19, 2005 in the United States House of Representatives in the U. S. Congress, Representative John Conyers, a Democrat from the state of Michigan, submitted House Resolution 635 “to make recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment” of President Bush. Go to http://www.house.gov
    and on the right column click on ‘Find a Bill or Law’
    and that takes you to
    http://thomas.loc.gov
    and in ‘Search Bill Text’
    enter H. Res. 635
    and un-check ‘Word/Phrase’
    and check ‘Bill Number’
    and click search.
    This will take you to H. Res. 635 “to make recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment” of President Bush. If he committed federal crimes, he could be Steve Kubby and Marc Emery’s new cellmate!!!
    CRISERICSON.COM

  • Stephen Gordon

    Cris,

    I assume you know my good friend, Loretta Nall?

  • http://21cr.blogspot.com DaveT

    I just caught a link to this: http://www.medicalmarijuanaprocon.org/ in the google ad links. I don’t know why they think their rating system is so great. It seems fairly arbitrary to me. Any random Ph.D that has been involved in the MM debate gets 3 stars where any random M.D. gets 4 stars (regardless of whether or not marijuana is their specialty). There are some abominably biased quotes on the con side and some weak reasoning on the pro side. There are some good things about the site, but a sampling of random people on different sides of such a controversial debate isn’t likely to be too illuminating with no way of determining who is so ideologically motivated that they are speaking without any kind of significant authority.

  • Josh

    It’s time the Kubby’s buy tickets to Amsterdam and try to gain refugee status there. At the very least it will buy them some time.

  • http://billstclair.com/blog/ Bill St. Clair

    If they want a drug war, let’s give them one. A few thousand dead narcs may give them pause, eh?

  • http://libertyforsale.com Timothy West

    No, that will just cause the entire weight of both the government and the entire public opinion to be against us as they put the LP on the terrorist list and start rounding us up.

    Your best defense is a libertarian party reformed to not be a laughing stock in the eyes of the elites…… who gives the R’s and the D’s enough fits in elections that they adopt our agenda for us. That’s the course the Socialist Party took and it has stuck for 130 years.

  • http://21cr.blogspot.com DaveT

    Exactly. Unless there is a major upset, the LP will never win. It will just get annoying and cause the major parties to adopt parts of the LP platform. However, I doubt they will ever adopt the small government aspect of the LP.

    Eventually, one of the parties will pick up a sane drug policy plank and that will, at least temporarily, tempt a number of Libertarian voters. The trick is getting them to do it. They won’t do it if it will alienate large swath’s of voters and give the Republicans serious political ammo. We need to change that situation before we can expect serious drug war reform to be a major aspect of the Democrat platform.

  • http://billstclair.com/blog/ Bill St. Clair

    This is exactly why liberty is doomed. The gummint is free to use whatever force they feel like to enforce whatever “law” they can get a couple hundred guys in DC to approve. We’re afraid to do squat. The drug war is a crime against humanity. Every cop who ever arrested anybody for smoking a joint is guilty of kidnapping, and should be executed, on the spot if possible. Only when enough people are willing to personally enforce their right to be left alone will this stop. Kill the narcs.

  • http://21cr.blogspot.com DaveT

    Bill, that’s an insane position to take. Intelligent debate can solve the problem. We just need to spread the right ideas around: ergo http://www.nationalreview.com/12feb96/drug.html

  • http://www.mapinc.org/ Allan Erickson

    Gee Bill…

    “boom!” Solves everything. Just remember, they always have bigger guns and can throw away bodies at an alarming rate. Methinks you’re on your own.

    While I too hate the slow rate of overturning the WO(s)D, we are beating them. They lost on the internet years ago. They’re losing in the heartland at an incredible rate. (AARP’s recent poll) 5 years ago we didn’t have an organization of LEO types advocating turning back the WO(s)D: http://www.leap.cc/

    What might sound good in YOUR head is in no one’s best interest.

  • http://libertyforsale.com Timothy West

    Bill, whats stopping you from starting right now? Lead by example. Tell us how well it works for you.

  • Jane Cochran

    I sympathize with Bill St. Claire’s position, and recall that Timothy Leary was once busted out of prison by some leftist guerillas of some kind. I do hope for something similar for Steve, should he get locked up until dead. Yet it does seem a futile gesture.

    That said, I’d trust bombs and guns to make change than I ever would “intelligent debate.” The monkeys will just fling…stuff… at you out there if you try that tack.

    I mean I understand saying violence is probably pointless, but I don’t understand why others would follow that up by suggesting something that is, at best, equally pointless.

    Hey, Bill, I’m not willing to give my address or anything to ID me, but should you be so insane as to do anything and happen to run into me by chance, I’d be willing to hide you and get you out of the country. I expect I’m the exception on that position, but I’m sure I’m not the only one…

  • GreginOz

    Go Bill, you good thing!!! Blow their fuckin’ heads off. If I lived in the States, that is:-) As it is I live in a normal cuntry (sic) and the pigs here are not vicious war criminals, back from shootin’ ‘n shaftin’ an innocent population abroad. Look, your cops are insane, your prosecutors don’t care if you are innocent or guilty, they’ve just gotta reach their targets. If a population believes that 3 pot convictions equals life imprisonment then you guys are on your own. I reckon I would rather tour Lebanon rather than the States! Anyway, I still think Bill has the right idea, ever hear about the One Percenters, WWII, in the States? Some dude reckoned that only one percent of the population could refuse conscription and the gummint could not handle the revolt. Oops, that’s right, Prison Ecology is a GROWTH industry in the land of the gun. Murray Rothbard said that “Gradualism in theory is perpetuity in practise” Don’t just fight the system, bloody well KILL IT!!! HATETHESTATEMATE.

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