LaMalfa, Nielsen Cite Crime Increase, Youth Access, Pollution Placer County supervisors faced down more opposition Tuesday to efforts that could result in taxing and regulating medical pot grows this time from Congressman Doug LaMalfa and state Sen. Jim Nielsen. The two were not present at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting but sent representatives to read prepared statements reinforcing strong concerns already voiced earlier in the month by Placer County's four police chiefs. Nielsen, speaking to the Journal late Tuesday, said that as chairman of the state Board of Prison Terms for several years, he observed the negative impact of marijuana. [continues 522 words]
State Funding for Most Ended in 2010 Despite funding cuts in recent years, drug, alcohol and tobacco prevention and mental health programs are still going strong in Placer County school districts. And that's good news for those who are trying to educate parents about teen drug abuse locally. Beginning in 1986, school districts got Safe and Drug-Free School Communities Funding to help implement a variety of prevention programs, according to Greg Wolfe, consultant in the Coordinated School Health and Safety Office with the state Department of Education. [continues 871 words]
President (Barack) Obama's desperate attacks on state-regulated dispensaries of cannabis (marijuana) has got to stop: "Medical marijuana crackdown gets reaction from those in industry," Journal, Oct. 13). Cannabis prohibition is a monster that must be put to death. Political leaders must stop feeding the monster and citizens must stop feeding politicians who feed the monster. Hopefully federal government policies to persecute, prohibit and exterminate cannabis will accelerate the race to completely re-legalize the God-given plant. Stan White, Dillon, Colo. [end]
Even Without Letter, For-Profit Facilities Not OK, U.S. Attorney Spokeswoman Says A recent directive from the federal government telling several California medical marijuana facilities to shut their doors inspired locals connected to the industry to speak out. According to Lauren Horwood, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento, the office has issued letters to close to 50 medical marijuana facilities. "(This happened) because the U.S. Attorneys felt the need for it," Horwood said. "It has been in the process for awhile and it seemed that as the illegal operations were becoming more and more prolific that something needs to be done by the federal government." [continues 886 words]
A court clash over a medical marijuana dispensary the city of Auburn is seeking to close down has been postponed again. But the city's cause has now been bolstered by a judge's tentative ruling that supports its 1996 ban on pot dispensaries. Judge Colleen Nichols issued the tentative ruling Monday, clearing the way for arguments in the civil court case to be heard Tuesday morning. Instead, however, Nichols postponed the session another week so that she could hear what she described as an emergency criminal issue. [continues 124 words]
A medical marijuana collective's attempt to fight the city of Auburn's efforts to permanently close its downtown dispensary will have to wait a week for another court date. Sierra Patient and Caregiver Exchange closed its doors last month after a temporary restraining order requested by city attorneys was granted in Placer County Superior Court. A hearing -- with the exchange requesting a hold on the restraining order and the city looking for a more-binding preliminary injunction - -- was to have been heard Tuesday in Roseville before Judge Colleen Nichols. [continues 132 words]
Security Is Important for Cannabis Patients, Physician Says A recent robbery that involved a medical marijuana theft has some speaking out about concerns and asking local residents to use security to keep themselves and their medical cannabis supply safe. At presstime Wednesday Robin Oscar Tipton, 20, of Sacramento, David Eugene Thomas, 23, of Sacramento, and Duane Edward Patton II, 23, of Elk Grove, were still in custody in Placer County Jail after being arrested July 7 for allegedly bursting into an Auburn couple's home and stealing medical marijuana, cash and other property, according to Dena Erwin, spokeswoman for the Placer County Sheriff's Office. [continues 630 words]
Facilities Currently Prohibited in Auburn Anyone trying to run a medical marijuana dispensary in Auburn could face fines instead of court in the near future. The Auburn Planning Commission voted Tuesday night to recommend the City Council amend the city's municipal code to make penalties for running dispensaries in the city civil rather than criminal infractions. According to Will Wong, community development director for the city of Auburn, in 2004 the city adopted an ordinance putting regulations on the dispensaries, but in 2006 the city amended its code to prohibit the facilities altogether. [continues 208 words]
Pot Harvest, Prop. 19 Issues Keep Placer County Medicinal Grower Busy The buds are sprouting at George Miller's medicinal marijuana grow, located on property on an isolated hillside somewhere between Auburn and Colfax. They're sending the sweetish aroma of cannabis wafting over the land where he passionately - and secretively - tends to his crop of 90 plants. The sun and the heat of the summer are lingering, extending a slow growing season that has kept plants smaller than they would normally be but moving steadily toward harvest time - and shipment by armored car to a Northern California collective. [continues 1438 words]
The Proposition 19 buzz is already hitting Auburn. With the potential to be part of the first state to legalize recreational use of marijuana, Auburn-area residents have strong -- and divided -- views on the proposition. Prop. 19 is on the Nov. 2 ballot. Auburn City Councilman Keith Nesbitt said he's basically in favor of decriminalization of cannabis and taxing it. "But Prop. 19 is a tough call," Nesbitt said. "We don't want to make it available for young people, for instance." [continues 661 words]
Is the Proposition 19 pot initiative going to harm or help California? Proponents like Dale Sky Jones, executive chancellor of Oakland's Oaksterdam University, contend passage of the proposition will save hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars now wasted on enforcing the failed prohibition of cannabis. But Sacramento attorney John Lovell, whose current clients include the California Police Chiefs Association, points to a coalition of law enforcement organizations and argues that the threat of losing significant federal funding should be a deal-killer in itself. [continues 627 words]
A Look Back on the Aughts Editor's note: The Journal shares some notable events that occurred in the last decade of Auburn's history. With fears of a Y2K apocalypse alleviated, 2000 ushered in the new decade with little fanfare. That came later as the presidential election heated up, ending in a recount and a newfound familiarity with hanging chads. Locally, plans were afoot to build Foresthill High School and a high-profile marijuana case against compassionate use advocate Steven Kubby went to trial. Here's a sampling of other local happenings in 2000. [continues 61 words]
Local Cities Weigh In On Medical Cannabis Dispensaries It's not so easy being green in Placer County for those looking to open a commercial medical cannabis dispensary. Recently the towns of Colfax and Loomis have put a moratorium in place prohibiting medical marijuana shops from opening. Officials from both towns say they will take the next 10 months to research the issue before making a final decision. Other county cities, including Auburn, have ordinances in place not allowing commercial storefront medical marijuana dispensaries. Federal law declaring medical marijuana as illegal was the reason most of those cities opted to not allow the shops. [continues 1158 words]
A Mendocino County court has dismissed the remnants of a 1999 Placer County prosecution of medical marijuana proponent Steve Kubby. The ruling -- which sees Kubby's misdemeanor convictions for possession of a magic mushroom stem and peyote buttons expunged under California law -- came last week. Full erasure of the conviction would take a governor's pardon, but Kubby said Tuesday that the court decision to dismiss the case leaves him "fully vindicated and in possession, once again, of my inalienable, inseparable, non-transferable rights." [continues 251 words]
Placer County plans to roll its medical marijuana identification-card program out March 1. But it's still uncertain whether the state-overseen and state-authorized program -- which remains voluntary for marijuana-medicating patients under the 11-year-old Proposition 214 Compassionate Use Act -- will take hold. Neighboring El Dorado County established its own ID program under state guidelines in mid-August and has issued 13 cards. Statewide, the three-year-old program has issued 18,847 cards in 36 counties. [continues 654 words]
Cool Doctor And Lawyer Cite Compassionate Use Act Two Cool residents were found guilty in federal court Thursday of manufacturing and selling large amounts of marijuana. But the Cool professionals, Marion "Molly" Fry, a doctor and her lawyer husband, Dale Schafer, say they are unfairly targeted and that the pot they were growing, completely legal, was allowed under the California Compassionate Use Act. "They were convicted by the jury of all charges in the indictment after three hours of deliberation," Rosemary Shawl, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said Friday. "The are out of custody pending sentencing Nov. 26." [continues 402 words]
There's something almost idiotic about the obviously confused and misguided way in which federal authorities are trying to enforce anti-marijuana laws in California today. Nothing better illustrates this than the headlines that appeared together in newspapers this spring and summer about numerous pot raids in middle-class neighborhoods across the state and those about the second trial of medical marijuana activist Ed Rosenthal of Oakland, an author sometimes known as the "guru of ganja." In the eastern Los Angeles County suburb of Diamond Bar, authorities burst into a three-bedroom home one day and found the entire house had been converted into a massive indoor marijuana farm with an elaborate irrigation system and overhead lights on timers set up to bypass electric meters that might have alerted the local utility something odd was going on in the house. [continues 563 words]
Foothills Doctor And Husband Say They Grow Legal Marijuana Two Cool residents could face up to 40 years in prison and millions in fines, if found guilty of manufacturing and selling large amounts of marijuana. But the Cool professionals, a doctor and a lawyer by trade, say they are unfairly targeted and that the pot they were growing, completely legal, was allowed under the California Compassionate Use Act. Dr. Marion "Molly" Fry and her attorney husband, Dale Schafer, were indicted by the U.S. Attorney's office in June 2005. [continues 623 words]
It has come to my attention that people haven't recognized the importance of hemp, and how to use it in our daily life. I feel it could be a great new resource used in our society. Hemp can take the role of trees, for instance, hemp paper could be used while trees could be built into houses. Hemp is harvested for its fibers made for hemp clothing, seeds, and hemp oil. With a relatively short growth cycle of 100-120 days, it is an efficient and economical crop for farmers to grow. [continues 169 words]
Calif. Facilities Hold Nearly Twice The Inmate Capacity The state's Republican lawmakers have called on the Legislature to act immediately on California's worsening prison overcrowding crisis. At a press conference held Tuesday at the State Capitol, Senate and Assembly members suggesting tackling the problem by making it easier to use available bed space as well as transfer prisoners out-of-state. "We have been trying to give the impression to the Legislature and the governor that we need to come up with a solution now," Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville said after the conference. "If we don't the courts will do it for us and the result would be the release of thousands of prisoners and that's scary." [continues 624 words]
Only here in America can a murderer receive a lower sentence than a sick patient that grows medical marijuana for themselves and other sick patients. Here in California where we have the Compassionate Use Act, law enforcement and government officials have been requested to take a new look and revamp their thought process and policies. Patients are not criminals. You cannot look at the age, gender or religion of a person to determine if they are a patient, you cannot look at the appearance of that person to make that determination. [continues 168 words]
Medical marijuana advocate Steve Kubby was released from the Placer County Jail Wednesday after serving one-third of a 60-day jail sentence for violating probation. He was released early due to jail overcrowding. Kubby violated probation from a 2000 drug conviction when he failed to return to the United States following a trip to Canada. He was deported in January from Canada back to California. While serving the 120-day sentence from his conviction, Kubby requested marijuana in jail to control symptoms from adrenal cancer. His request was denied and he was administered Marinol, a synthetic form of marijuana. Kubby served 40 days of that sentence before being released and going back to jail for probation violation. [continues 116 words]
Travis Bailey, in his letter, Pot gives a high, but it won't save a life, Your Views, Feb. 10, levels some heavy criticism at cannabis consumers and advocates for Steve Kubby. Bailey says, "What's wrong with Marinol anyway? It was engineered to provide all the benefits of pot with the nasty side effects of getting high." The attitude displayed by Mr. Bailey, that an "engineered" and synthetic based medicine is superior to the whole plant (constructed in nature's laboratory), is laughable. [continues 102 words]
Placer County Jail officials released medical-marijuana activist Steve Kubby after he served one-third of his 120-day sentence because of overcrowding and his good behavior. "He received credit for time served and was released early because of our overcrowding situation," Capt. John Fitzgerald, commander of the jail, said Tuesday. Kubby, 59, has been incarcerated since returning to the United States from Canada after leaving the country to avoid a 120-day jail sentence in 2000. The jail is federally mandated to release inmates when it reaches a 90-percent capacity to avoid reaching 100 percent capacity of 540 inmates. [continues 679 words]
I have been reading about the "rights" of medicinal pot users, but have never seen anyone writing about the "rights" of non-users. Medicinal pot smokers moved into the apartment below and have taken over the oxygen I breathe. If I leave the windows slightly open to enjoy a cool breeze, my apartment becomes inundated by this foul odor and I have to close the windows to avoid contact effects. If I use fans in the apartment, it pulls the marijuana smoke up from downstairs and affects me physically and emotionally. [continues 94 words]
A motion by the attorney for jailed medical marijuana activist Steve Kubby to modify his sentence and the conditions of his probation was denied Friday in an Auburn courtroom. J. David Nick, Kubby's San Francisco attorney, had requested that the court allow Kubby a re-sentencing hearing stating that his client was never sentenced as a felon. Superior Court Judge John Cosgrove disagreed. "The defendant has been sentenced ... I don't see that Mr. Kubby is eligible to another sentencing," Cosgrove said Friday. "Request denied." [continues 355 words]
Vote Is 4-1 For Approval Of New City Ordinance Medical marijuana patients won't be getting their prescriptions filled in Auburn anytime soon. The Auburn City Council approved a new ordinance Monday night disallowing facilities that distribute medical marijuana within city limits Councilman Keith Nesbitt was the lone no in the 4-1 vote as the other council members, Kevin Hanley, Bob Snyder, Bridget Powers and Mayor Mike Holmes, voted to outlaw dispensaries. Many proponents at the meeting said outlawing dispensaries goes against the will of California voters, who approved the "Compassionate Use Act" in 1996. [continues 584 words]
Mr. Joel Williams from Vermont, Your Views, Feb. 3, where is your journalistic integrity regarding the punishment of a child molester in Vermont who had tortured a little girl for four years? Rather than questioning coverage of Steve Kubby, you should be questioning why your state allows a child molester be punished, only after exposure, with a slap on the wrist of eight years' incarceration. Have you ever heard of investigative reporting this injustice? Do you believe harsh punishment is not due a child molester? [continues 126 words]
Touche B.K Stegeman, Your Views, Feb. 19, on the medical marijuana issue. First of all, the issue of Judge Cashman is much more involved than what you hear on The O'Reilly Factor. You have heard piecemeal bits of a larger issue and echoed an opinion without truly knowing the facts. Get your facts straight! The issue has been alleviated with the legislature offering rehabilitation along with more incarceration. Furthermore Vermont's jurisprudence, or lack there of, has nothing to do with the Steve Kubby issue. This is really a California constitutional issue with the peripheral issue of citizen oppression. Your attempt to vilify me is very revealing. [continues 136 words]
After having recently returned from a trip that included time spent in the beautiful city of Amsterdam, Netherlands, I would like to mention an idea that I have not yet seen discussed in editorials. The Netherlands has a policy of making legal and accepting marijuana and prostitution. Please note, I said acceptance not approval. Their belief is that prostitution and marijuana use have a history as old as mankind and will not go away by simply passing a law against them. They legalize the use of marijuana and prostitution so that it can be controlled. Notice, controlled, not approved. [continues 143 words]
Travis Bailey, Your Views, Feb. 10, may be an addiction specialist, but he does not understand the facts about medical marijuana. Marijuana's efficacy does not depend on hypothetical FDA studies. Cannabis was used as a medicine from its first introduction into the U.S. pharmacopoeia in the 1850s. It was forced off the market by the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act despite the opposition of the American Medical Association, which recommended its continued medical availability. In the 1980s, marijuana was shown effective as an anti-nauseant in several state-sponsored FDA studies, but research was stopped by federal drug bureaucrats. [continues 162 words]
In regard to Mike Monahan's letter, Your Views, Feb. 9, it has always amazed me how often people write the editor with opinions masquerading as facts. First of all, there is no "state issued" user card for medicinal marijuana, with or without a doctor's prescription. The law is primarily interpreted by each county's law enforcement system. This causes a great deal of confusion for medical professionals and patients. Second, there are plenty of doctors who will recommend medicinal marijuana in writing when it is appropriate. In general, counties require written recommendations to verify a patient's claim. [continues 72 words]
Judge Switch Requested For Medical Pot Advocate A new legal team representing medical marijuana activist Steve Kubby appeared in an Auburn courtroom Wednesday requesting their client's case be heard by Judge John Cosgrove. Cosgrove presided over the original jury trial in which Kubby, 59, was sentenced in 2000 to 120 days jail time for possession of psilocybin and mescaline. "What I want to do for Steve is have the case sent back to Cosgrove for a complete felony sentencing to occur," said Kubby's new attorney David Nick in a telephone interview. Nick did not appear in court, instead sending a representative. [continues 434 words]
I'm writing about the not-so-thoughtful letter from Mike Monahan: "Kubby needs a psychiatrist, not marijuana," Your Views, Feb 9 . Why does an adult citizen of a so-called free country need permission from his or her government to use any substance? Especially marijuana. Do we need permission from our government to eat foods that somebody has decided are not good for us? It seems to me that adult citizens should be free to smoke, swallow, snort or inject any substance that they want as long as they are personally responsible for the consequences. Kirk Muse, Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Regarding the current firestorm over medical cannabis, I felt compelled to share with your readers some facts about how marijuana first came to be illegal. This information was taken from the History Channel specials on Drugs in America. During the early part of the 20th century, a handful of southern congressmen conspired to fan the flames of racial hatred toward black men by claiming that pot caused these men to become crazy and seek out white women to assault and rape. They held up as an example one case of such behavior, isolated and not worthy of a blanket indictment. [continues 110 words]
After reading many letters concerning Steve Kubby, I am left with some fantastic thoughts -- medical marijuana activists are actually crying foul that a law enforcement organization won't allow the use of pot in jail. Wow. That is the second most absurd argument over the use of pot I have ever heard. The first was regarding the individual who wanted to use pot in a treatment facility for substance abuse to which I was privy. Let me state my feelings on the use of pot for medicine: If a person with some condition wants to use pot for medicine and a group of neuro-chemical scientists can sufficiently explain how they will reduce the symptoms, the FDA approves it and Congress makes it legal, I will investigate my stand on the situation a little more. [continues 184 words]
It has always amazed me that you continue to publish letters from writers that have never ever seen or read the Auburn Journal. Kubby was convicted and sentenced to 120 days of "house" arrest, instead he choose to flee to Canada to avoid this sentence. He was "booted" out of Canada and is now being a martyr for the potheads of America. Read Proposition 215 and the legislation that has been passed since. There is nowhere in this or any other "law" that requires a doctor's prescription, it only requires that a physician recommend. Verbal is accepted to allow a person to get a state-issued users card. Check out how many doctors will give a written prescription for pot and what pharmacy will fill that prescription - zero, nada, none. How can a man conceive children and expose them to heavy pot smoking? Pot, like cigarettes, causes lung damage along with a deadening of senses! Kubby needs a psychiatrist, not pot. Mike Monahan [end]
Steve Kubby's Attorney Says Symptoms Subsiding for Now The attorney for incarcerated medical marijuana advocate Steven Kubby pulled his client's motion to have the substance administered to him in jail Friday. Kubby, who has been in Placer County Jail since Jan. 27, filed a motion requesting marijuana-laced food be served to him in jail. Kubby contends he must have marijuana daily in order to survive and stave off the affects of a rare form of adrenal cancer. However, at a hearing in a Placer County courtroom Friday, Kubby's attorney Bill McPike told Judge Robert McElhany that he was dropping the motion. [continues 476 words]
Where is your journalistic integrity? It is unbelievable that a man is in jail and possibly dying of kidney failure or worse, and you print a story, Journal, Jan. 29, quoting a police guard who says Steve Kubby is "looking fine." Is that because he is behind bars? Is the officer a doctor or some type of medical professional? Have any tests been conducted confirming Mr. Kubby is experiencing blood in his urine or hypertension from high blood pressure? Has anyone checked with his doctors to see what they say? [continues 119 words]
Activist's Attorney to Ask for Alternative Sentencing Incarcerated medical-marijuana activist Steve Kubby slowly entered an Auburn courtroom Tuesday afternoon and took his seat next to other inmates as he smiled to a crowd of supporters in the audience. Kubby, 59, was in court with his attorney Bill McPike for arraignment on a charge of violation of probation after his arrest Thursday in San Francisco. Kubby's attorney entered a plea of "not guilty" on behalf of his client. He said outside the courtroom that he will ask the court for alternative sentencing. [continues 497 words]
Marijuana Activist to Appear in Court Today The topic of jailed medical marijuana activist Steve Kubby is gaining popularity on the Internet as he reports failing health and poor medical attention in Placer County Jail. Placer county law-enforcement officials say they are treating Kubby humanely as they do all inmates. Kubby, 59, has reportedly spoken with supporters since his Friday incarceration. Fred Colburn, of Meadow Vista, has been friends with Kubby since the activist ran as the Libertarian candidate for governor on the 1997/1998 ballot. He said he spoke to Kubby early Monday morning. [continues 722 words]
Kubby Arrested on Return to U.S. After Asylum Rejected Medical marijuana activist Steve Kubby, a fugitive from Placer County, was back in custody Friday at Placer County Jail after being arrested at San Francisco International Airport. Kubby, 58, was arrested on a no-bail warrant by San Francisco police officers and booked into San Mateo County Jail as he disembarked from a flight from Canada. Bill McPike, Kubby's attorney, flew with his client from Vancouver to California, and said that at least seven officers were waiting for the plane when it arrived. [continues 440 words]
Steve Kubby is the man that Proposition 215 was written for. His medical condition, Journal, Jan. 13, dictates that he use cannabis - copious quantities of cannabis. Probably even more than I would care to ingest. Placer County, being one of the zero-tolerance holdout counties in the state, has purposefully persecuted Mr. Kubby. His voluntary exile to Canada has kept him alive. But now by way of duplicity from the district attorney and the superior court bench, his life is in jeopardy. [continues 57 words]
Medical marijuana activist Steve Kubby contends if he is returned to the United States and not allowed to smoke marijuana daily he will die, but doctors differ on whether all the pot Kubby smokes is really good for his health. Kubby's Canadian doctor said the one-time California gubernatorial candidate smokes cannabis to alleviate symptoms of his adrenal cancer. "(Kubby's) kind of cancer, metastatic pheochromocytoma, releases adrenaline into the blood and these drugs speed up your heart making your body run faster," said Dr. Joe Connors, a medical oncologist for British Columbia Cancer Agency in a telephone interview Thursday. "His tumors make excessive amounts of these substances." [continues 318 words]
Steve Kubby, a fugitive from Placer County and internationally known medical-marijuana activist, will stay in Canada for the time being despite an order to leave the country last week. The Canadian Border Services rejected the Kubby family's bid for protection Dec. 9 and ordered the Kubby family out of the country by Jan. 12 or face arrest. Michele Kubby, Steve's wife, asked a Canadian court Monday for a stay based on legal motions. She said she had limited success. [continues 431 words]
I was very interested in the Jan. 6, 2006, Journal article about Steve Kubby's possible eviction from Canada stemming from his 1999 arrest in Placer County. I am troubled because Canadian officials have brushed aside the medical evidence that Kubby faces a likely death in custody without access to medical cannabis. His malignant adrenal cancer kills by producing high blood-pressure spikes that produce heart attacks, strokes and aneurisms, something that marijuana has prevented. It's not surprising that Placer authorities refuse to believe that Kubby has a fatal medical condition. They have consistently denied the medical record, partly, one assumes, because they cannot believe that jailing Kubby would result in his death. [continues 146 words]
Ordered Expulsion From Canada Could Lead to Jail Steve Kubby, a fugitive from Placer County and internationally known medical-marijuana activist, is fighting to stay in Canada despite a court order to leave the country by Thursday. "Monday we're going to request a stay based on legal motions that we filed in court," Kubby said in a telephone interview from his home Thursday. "We remain hopeful that it will be granted." Kubby fled to Canada with his family in an effort to avoid incarceration after a 2000 conviction in Placer County on charges of possession of mescaline and psilocybin. Placer County deputies reportedly found a small amount of peyote button and magic mushroom during a 1999 raid of Kubby's Olympic Valley home. [continues 327 words]
Should the sale of medical marijuana be banned in Colfax? The difficulty in interpreting the state and federal laws dealing with the sale of medical marijuana led city staff to discuss a possible ban at a staff retreat Oct. 13, said Colfax City Manager Bob Perrault. "There was no consensus," Perrault said Monday. "(But) it is an issue that I think needs to be discussed." No date was set for that discussion. Selling medical marijuana became legal in 1996 under California Proposition 215. In June, however, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that federal authorities can prosecute patients who use medical marijuana in California. That decision led to Colfax city officials discussing whether to follow the state or federal law. "We feel like we're kind of left in this land in between," Perrault said. Golden State Patient Care, the county's sole medical marijuana collective, opened last year off Highway 174 in Colfax. [end]
Authorities Dispute Medipot Recommendations He Used A Nevada County man was recently arrested after deputies confiscated nearly a ton of marijuana from his property. "The total weight of the 109 plants we seized was about a ton," Sgt. Bill Evans, of the Nevada County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force, said Wednesday. "I'm estimating the weight based on the two pickups and dump trailer used to haul it away." Thomas J. Wease, 42, of Nevada City, was arrested Friday and charged with suspicion of cultivating marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale, being armed while committing a felony, and resisting arrest. [continues 277 words]
Medical-marijuana activist Steve Kubby lost his most recent battle in an Auburn courtroom Monday, but says it's a "victory." Bill McPike, Kubby's attorney, filed a motion to vacate a 2000 drug conviction, April 29. Judge John Cosgrove denied McPike's request Monday, citing that Placer County court did not have jurisdiction over the case and Kubby's fugitive status as reasons for the denial. Kubby fled to Canada in an effort to avoid incarceration after a 2000 conviction on charges of possession of mescaline and psilocybin. Deputies reportedly found a small amount of peyote button and magic mushroom during a 1999 search of Kubby's Olympic Valley home. [continues 619 words]
