Pubdate: Sun, 22 Jan 2006 Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Copyright: 2006 The Edmonton Journal Contact: http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134 Author: Keith Fraser, CanWest News Service Alert: Will Steve Kubby Become a Medical Cannabis Martyr? http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0321.html ACTION: Please See http://www.kubby.org/ Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/kubby.htm (Kubby, Steve) POT ACTIVISTS FACE DEPORTATION Federal Court Overturns California Family's Appeal VANCOUVER -- Medical-marijuana advocates Steve and Michele Kubby and their two young daughters could be deported at any moment after a last-ditch appeal in the Federal Court of Canada was dismissed. The California family has been under a removal order since May 2002, when the Immigration and Refugee Board found that Steve Kubby was inadmissible to Canada on criminality grounds. His wife and children were also ordered removed after overstaying their visitors' visas. The family filed refugee claims on the grounds that Steve Kubby, who suffers from a rare form of cancer, used pot for medical purposes. Their claims were denied. They appealed their case to the courts, arguing that Steve Kubby faced possible death in jail if returned to the U.S., but the arguments failed to overturn the removal order. On Jan. 9, facing a deportation deadline of Jan. 12, they filed a stay application in Federal Court. A judge has now dismissed that application. Steve Kubby moved to B.C. in 2001 after drug charges were laid against him in California. He now lives in the Kamloops, B.C., area. The family is unclear what will happen next. "We have not received any communications in any way, shape or form from any government official," Kubby told The Province. "We're completely in the dark. We don't know if the next knock on the door will be armed officials ready to transport me to the border." Federal Court Judge Yvon Pinard found that there was no risk to Kubby if he was to be returned to the U.S., but Kubby insists there is a serious threat. "No one in the Canadian courts wants to believe my life could really be on the line -- even though we've had doctors, specialists, experts testify that after 24 hours I could suffer a heart attack, a stroke. "These are all things that weigh on my wife. It's an ungodly amount of strain for her." Kubby was charged in California with cultivating marijuana after 265 pot plants were found in his home, but was later acquitted by a jury. Kubby, a former candidate for governor, was, along with his wife, instrumental in passing Proposition 215, which allows marijuana for medical uses. He believes his current problems are closely linked to his political positions. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin