cannabisnews.com: Canada Rejects Medical Pot Asylum 





Canada Rejects Medical Pot Asylum 
Posted by CN Staff on December 09, 2003 at 07:26:45 PT
By Jeremy Hay, Staff Writer
Source: Press Democrat
Former California gubernatorial candidate Steve Kubby benefits medically from marijuana, but he doesn't qualify as a political refugee, a Canadian immigration judge said Monday in rejecting Kubby's application for political asylum."Mr. Kubby has not established he has either a well founded fear of persecution ... or a risk to his life" if he returns to the United States, Judge Paulah Dauns said in her ruling.
The ruling could have significant implications for two North Coast men now living in Canada, Kenneth Hayes and Steve Tuck, who face marijuana charges in the United States and have also applied for political refugee status in Canada.Dauns is the judge who will decide their cases.In 2000, Kubby, now 56, was convicted in Placer County on charges of peyote possession, but says he would die in jail without access to marijuana -- the basis for his claim for political refugee status.Kubby -- who smokes pot to suppress his adrenal gland cancer and since fleeing to Canada has become a vocal medical marijuana activist -- said he would appeal the ruling."I just always feel that we're right and we're going to prevail if we don't give up," he said from his home in British Columbia, where a small but growing group of Americans has settled, escaping U.S. drug charges or what they term unduly harsh anti-drug policies.Although it went against Kubby, Dauns' ruling further illustrated the increasing divide in U.S. and Canadian policies over marijuana use.Kubby would prefer to be told how much marijuana he can "safely grow ... thereby being guaranteed not to be prosecuted," Dauns said in her ruling."Perhaps this would be the best approach. Certainly it is the approach that Canada has adopted," she wrote. But, she added, California has "very liberal and clear medical marijuana laws."Dauns also said that while Kubby, Hayes and others have argued they would not receive fair trials in the United States, others facing federal marijuana charges received less-than-mandatory sentences.A ruling on Hayes and Tuck's cases is expected soon, a Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board spokeswoman said.Kubby ran for California governor in 1998.He was acquitted of marijuana charges in the same case that resulted in his peyote possession conviction.He has 15 days to apply to Canada's Supreme Court for a review of Daun's decision, refugee board spokeswoman Melissa Anderson said.If the court doesn't review his case, Kubby and his family have 30 days to leave Canada, the country's Citizenship and Immigration department said.Kubby could also apply for a "pre-removal risk assessment," said Lois Reimer, a department spokeswoman, and immigration officials would again investigate whether Kubby faced "cruel or unusual punishment or risk to life" if returned to the United States.Meanwhile, Placer County District Attorney Brad Fenocchio suggested that authorities have other things on their mind than hunting Kubby down."I can't speak for the sheriff," he said, "but I seriously doubt that the department is going to want to expend the funds to go anywhere to serve this warrant outside the state of California."Note: Former California gubernatorial candidate Steve Kubby plans appeal of ruling denying refugee status.Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)Author: Jeremy Hay, Staff WriterPublished: December 09, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Press DemocratContact: letters pressdemo.comWebsite: http://www.pressdemo.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:The Kubby Defense Fundhttp://www.kubby.org/The Drug War Refugeeshttp://www.freedomtoexhale.com/smk.htmRefugee Loses Bid To Stay in Canadahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17938.shtmlGrass Not Always Greener On The Other Sidehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17937.shtml'Reefer Refugee' Loses Asylum Claim in Canadahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17935.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 09, 2003 at 12:42:15 PT
Related Article from The CBC
Medical Pot Refugee Loses Deportation CaseDecember 9 2003 
 
 VANCOUVER - A self-described medical marijuana refugee has about two weeks to appeal a ruling ordering he be deported back to the United States.Steve Kubby came to B.C. two years ago, seeking to avoid a jail sentence in California that he said will kill him. He is here with his wife and two children.Kubby constantly smokes marijuana to control a rare form of adrenal cancer. If he were incarcerated and deprived of the drug, he claims he would die.An Immigration and Refugee Board decision released Monday rejected that argument, saying it would not put his life at risk or subject him to torture.The decision was not what Kubby was expecting."The physician that they selected testified under oath that if I was denied cannabis for more than 48 hours I would suffer a heart attack or a stroke and I would probably lose my life," he said.Representatives from the federal Immigration Minister's argued Kubby should be deported.Mark Emery of the B.C. Marijuana Party was watching the case closely. He felt it could set a precedent for other such refugees in Canada."So if Steve Kubby were permitted to stay it would be seen as slap in the face to the Bush Administration's hard-on-drugs policy. Ultimately if he goes back and dies in federal prision he will have proved his point."Kubby's appeal must be made to the Federal Court of Canada. 
Copyright: CBC 2003http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=pot_refugee_20031209
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 09, 2003 at 07:33:45 PT
News Article from Snipped Source
Medical Marijuana Activist Loses Bid for Refugee Status 
Adrienne Tanner, The Province Tuesday, December 09, 2003 
Steve Kubby plans to appeal denial of refugee claim. 
  
Hours after losing his refugee claim, Steve Kubby, a medical-marijuana crusader from California, seemed unbowed as he planned his Federal Court appeal."I'm not willing to go back and have them kill me," said Kubby, who smokes large quantities of marijuana to control symptoms of a rare adrenal cancer.Kubby fled the United States for the Sunshine Coast in 2001 to escape a 120-day sentence for drug offences.He filed a refugee claim arguing he would die in jail without access to medical marijuana.Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/news/story.asp?id=390F8E13-6D94-45FD-BC2D-1A64346665D7
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