cannabisnews.com: Pothead Refugee Was Treated Here





Pothead Refugee Was Treated Here
Posted by CN Staff on April 21, 2003 at 19:29:30 PT
By Andrea Sands, City Hall Bureau
Source: Edmonton Sun
A cancer patient and U.S. citizen who sparked controversy by making a refugee claim so he can smoke medical marijuana has undergone experimental treatment in Edmonton. And Steve Kubby, 56, told The Sun yesterday he might soon be back for another round of treatment aimed at wiping out his adrenal cancer. For now, he said, weed works best. "I was probably nauseous for a week and there were other side-effects," he said.
"But I want to also say, I've been to a lot of hospitals. I thought that the level of patient care at the Edmonton (Cross) Cancer centre was world-class." The Cross Cancer Institute is the western referral centre for the type of treatment Kubby said he's received. The treatment is available only in Edmonton and London, Ont., said Alberta Cancer Board spokesman Trish Filevich. Kubby - wanted in the United States on drug charges - brought his wife and two young daughters to Canada, where he was granted a federal exemption last summer that lets him smoke and grow marijuana for his rare form of cancer. The family lives in Sechelt, B.C. Filevich couldn't tell The Sun if the Cross Cancer Institute will allow Kubby to smoke marijuana there. But Kubby's wife, Michele, said he did smoke during a four-day stay at the institute in December. Kubby smokes about 12 grams of pot per day. He's now claiming Canada should grant him refugee status because he'll be persecuted for his medicinal pot use in the United States, where all marijuana use is outlawed. Kubby said yesterday he was diagnosed with a form of cancer in the 1970s that should have killed him years ago by sending out fatally high shots of adrenalin. But he insists he survived because he stumbled across marijuana. "A doctor testified in my (hearing) that if I had to go 48 hours without cannabis, I'm very likely to have a heart attack, a stroke or kidney failure because of these spikes." Kubby is awaiting an Immigration and Refugee Board ruling after testimony wrapped up this week at his Vancouver hearing. Board spokesman Melissa Anderson told The Sun only one U.S. citizen has ever been granted refugee status in Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokesman Janis Fergusson said from Vancouver yesterday her department took the unusual step of intervening in Kubby's hearing and arguing against his refugee claim. "Essentially, we feel that Mr. Kubby doesn't fit the definition of a conventional refugee ... because he's making a claim based on his need for medicinal marijuana," Fergusson said. And B.C. Canadian Alliance MP Randy White won another unusual application: to have Kubby's hearing opened to the public. White said in a news release Kubby is fleeing prosecution, not persecution. "If the Kubby case is successful, how many of the 30,000 medical marijuana users in the state of California alone will we see at our border?" Newshawk: Steve Kubby - http://www.pot-tv.netSource: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Author: Andrea Sands, City Hall BureauPublished: Friday, April 18, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Canoe Limited PartnershipContact: letters edm.sunpub.comWebsite: http://www.fyiedmonton.com/htdocs/edmsun.shtmlRelated Articles & Web Sites:Pot TV Newshttp://www.pot-tv.netThe Drug War Refugees http://freedomtoexhale.com/smk.htm Medical Pot Need Wouldn't Protect Him in Oregon http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15986.shtmlCalif. Cops Reject State's Medical Pot Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15977.shtmlCalifornia Cops Reject Medical Pot Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15976.shtml
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