cannabisnews.com: Pot Activist Enlists Help of Cancer Specialist 





Pot Activist Enlists Help of Cancer Specialist 
Posted by CN Staff on August 12, 2002 at 21:56:52 PT
By Jane Seyd
Source: Coast Reporter 
American pot "refugee" Steve Kubby has applied for a Health Canada exemption which would legally allow him to smoke marijuana and enlisted the support of a B.C. cancer specialist as he gears up for a legal fight over his medical marijuana use.Kubby, who faces criminal charges of cultivating pot in Sechelt, plans to ask the B.C. Supreme Court for an exemption to Canada's drug laws, that would allow him to smoke pot, on "life and death" medical grounds.
Kubby also wants to ask the judge to order police to hand back pot seized by Sechelt RCMP.Kubby, who suffers from a rare form of adrenal gland cancer, says smoking pot is the only thing that protects him from heart attacks and strokes which can result when his cancer cells start producing extra adrenaline and other hormones.Kubby is basing his legal case on a recent decision by a B.C. Supreme Court judge which appeared to set a precedent for a lower standard for medicinal pot use.Police raided Wes Winchester's home in September of 2000 and seized 96 plants, charging Winchester with cultivation and trafficking. But on June 25, a B.C. Supreme Court judge dismissed drug charges against Winchester who suffers from AIDS and three types of hepatitis, saying his post smoking is "reasonably necessary for therapeutic use". Winchester's lawyer argued smoking marijuana is the only way his client can keep his daily cocktail of 67 pills down.Recently, Kubby won support for his legal battle from Dr. Joseph Connors, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia and medical oncologist at the B.C. Cancer Agency.Connors said Kubby's pot smoking controls the blood pressure spikes, rapid heart beats, severe headaches and chest pains which can result when his adrenal cancer cells produce too much adrenaline or other hormones.Marijuana appears to be unique in that it controls all the symptoms at the same time, said Connors.Connors said he doesn't know why the pot works - it may block some receptors in the brain for the harmful levels of hormone - or if it would work in a similar fashion for other patients.He said he'd never heard of pot as a treatment for the symptoms of adrenal cancer prior to meeting Kubby, about a month ago.In Kubby's case, however, the marijuana does have a medicinal effect, said Connors.Last week, Kubby's hearing was adjourned by a judge for the second time, from Aug. 6 to Aug. 19.After that, Michele Kubby says she and her husband won't bother waiting for permission to grow the pot her husband needs. "We're just going to grow it," she said.The Kubby's, high-profile medicinal pot activists from California, moved to the Sunshine Coast last year with their children, aged six and two.Steve Kubby was arrested on an immigration warrant in April after coming to the attention of Sechelt RCMP in media reports about medicinal marijuana.U.S. officials want Steve Kubby to serve a four-month jail sentence for a California conviction for possessing a trace amount of hallucinogenic mushroom.The Kubby's say that isn't possible because Kubby wouldn't be allowed access to the marijuana they say is keeping him alive.Following immigration hearing on the Lower Mainland, the couple returned to the Coast and applied for political refugee status as members of a persecuted group. Complete Title: Pot Activist Enlists Help of Cancer Specialist in CourtSource: Coast Reporter (CN BC)Author: Jane SeydPublished: August 11, 2002Copyright: 2002 Coast ReporterContact: Jane Seyd: janeeditor dccnet.comWebsite: http://www.suncoastbc.net/news_info/index.htmlRelated Articles & Web Site:Pot-TVhttp://www.pot-tv.net'Life and Death’ Medical Marijuana Case Delayedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13681.shtmlJudge Adjourns Pot Exiles Life and Death Hearinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13491.shtmlSupreme Court Adjourns Life or Death Appeal http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13430.shtmlDrug Refugees - Report Newsmagazine http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13224.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by TroutMask on August 13, 2002 at 07:16:01 PT
The Good Doctor
Don't know if anyones has spotted this yet. Nice picture of Dr. Russo!http://www.hempbc.com/articles/2569.htmlI wish I was there! :-)-TM 
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Comment #1 posted by lookinside on August 13, 2002 at 05:11:16 PT
California....
After the recent California Supreme Court decision, Gray Davis should announce a blanket amnesty for medicinal growers and users that have been persecuted by a crooked California legal system.The refugees should be able to come home.
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