cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Activist's Convictions Slashed Marijuana Activist's Convictions Slashed Posted by FoM on March 03, 2001 at 06:51:15 PT By Wayne Wilson, Sacramento Bee Source: Contra Costa Times Applause erupted in a Placer County courtroom Friday when a judge reduced to misdemeanors the felony drug convictions of medical marijuana activist Steve Kubby and dismissed all the remaining marijuana counts against him.Kubby, 54, who now lives in Lake County but plans to move to British Columbia as soon as he fulfills the conditions of his probation, was fined $2,700 and ordered to serve 120 days of alternative sentencing. "The jail would not be an appropriate place for Mr. Kubby," said Judge John L. Cosgrove, acknowledging Kubby's claim that he needs marijuana to keep a rare form of cancer from taking his life.Loudly expressing their appreciation for the judge's rulings were a couple of dozen proponents of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, the law that permits seriously ill Californians to cultivate and use marijuana for medical purposes.They had filled Cosgrove's courtroom in support of their standard-bearer, Kubby, the Libertarian Party's candidate for governor in 1998.And it turned out to be a banner day for the movement locally.In addition to asking the judge to drop the marijuana case against Kubby and his wife, Michele, Placer County District Attorney Bradford Fenocchio also filed a motion to halt the pending retrial of Roseville dentist Michael A. Baldwin and his wife, Georgia, on similar charges.Both couples were arrested after raids on their homes turned up marijuana gardens in various stages of cultivation.And both claimed medical exemptions, citing doctors' recommendations that they use marijuana to treat physical ailments that had disrupted their lives for years.The Baldwins' trial ended in May 1999 with the jury deadlocked, leaning slightly toward acquittal.And the four-month Kubby trial concluded in December with the jury hung at 11-1, the majority voting that the Kubbys' 265 plants were for medicinal use only. But that same panel returned guilty verdicts against Steve Kubby for possessing minute quantities of psilocybin and mescaline found during the Jan. 19, 1999, search of his home.The psilocybin was contained in a single mushroom stem that Kubby said he had obtained and studied years ago for a book he wrote on the religious significance of psychedelic mushrooms.And the mescaline was in the form of a peyote button that Kubby claimed he had never seen and must have been left in the house by a visitor.The probation officer's report noted that the amount of illegal narcotics recovered was "extremely small" and that Kubby's explanation for their presence was "believable."And Judge Cosgrove said those factors, along with Kubby's "impeccably clean" prior record, persuaded him to treat both offenses as misdemeanors.But Kubby didn't escape unscathed.He will be subject to search and seizure for the three years he is on formal probation and will have to serve 120 days in a yet-to-be-determined alternative sentencing program.In the motion to dismiss the remaining counts against Kubby, Deputy District Attorney Christopher M. Cattran said the prosecutorial decision was "not a comment on guilt or innocence, but rather an indictment of the vagueness, whether intentional or unintentional," of the new law relating to medical marijuana.Cattran said the request to dismiss in no way reflected a lack of confidence in the investigative efforts of the North Tahoe Narcotics Task Force or the Placer County Sheriff's Department.But "because of the vagueness (of the law), inconsistent court rulings interpreting the section and the remaining conflict with Federal law, a second trial on the remaining counts is not prudent," Cattran wrote.On behalf of Fenocchio, Cattran asked the California Legislature "to establish specific guidelines with respect to the amount of marijuana appropriate for medical use."And he pledged that, "Until the Legislature speaks," the Placer County prosecutors' office "will work with law enforcement, citizens and health care providers of this county and neighboring counties to establish guidelines that provide guidance for law enforcement and a basis for evaluation of each case."Note: Felony counts against cancer patient Steve Kubby are cut to misdemeanors; other convictions dismissed. Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)Author: Wayne Wilson, Sacramento BeePublished Saturday, March 3, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Contra Costa Newspapers Inc.Address: 2640 Shadelands Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94598Website: http://www.contracostatimes.com/Feedback: http://www.contracostatimes.com/contact_us/letters.htmRelated Articles & Web Site:The Kubby Fileshttp://www.kubby.org/Charges Reduced In Kubby Drug Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8864.shtmlPair Claims Win in Pot Case Mistrial http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8095.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Steve Kubbyhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=kubby Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by Anonymous on March 04, 2001 at 07:42:51 PT Sorry to see him go... Not that I blame him, but I'm sorry to see that Mr. Kubby is planning to move to BC. We could use more like him here in DEALand. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by raoul duke on March 03, 2001 at 16:28:27 PT "ditto" a few qoutes “A little rebellion now and then...is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government.” - Thomas Jefferson -“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety” - Benjamin Franklin -“It has ever been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues”- Abraham Lincoln -“They used to burn witches. Today we laugh at them. Today we jail people for marijuana. Tomorrow they'll laugh at us.” - Robert "Rosie" Rowbotham - A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded... Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man´s appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes.Abraham Lincoln http://www.jackherer.com [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on March 03, 2001 at 16:21:51 PT: Another example of political action Consider, friends: A DA in California is being targeted for her failing to protect the rights of MMJ patients.Now, you don't think that this had any bearing on what was previously a real gung-ho, let's-kill-the-Kubby's-with-the-law-like-we-did-with-McWilliams effort, do you? Naw, they aren't running scared for their jobs! Such staunch DrugWarriors! They fear nothing; certainly they don't fear a rising, politically-active MMJ community! Buncha damn potheads! All sufferin' from that there 'ah-motivashion syndrome'...or sumpin. Their brains is all shrunk up.Uh, what's that? They're going to fire me? Why? All I did was okay Officer Boot's rousting some dopers! Uh, yeah, some of them were in wheelchairs, some using walkers, and a lot of them had no hair; chemo does that. But they're dopers! They deserve what happens to them! They're breaking the LAW. And now they're doing a recall on me? Oh, dear me! What'll I do? I'll have to get a real job!I said a long time ago that the antis are always sending their little messages, and it was time to send some of our own. Well, this is the first shot across the bow for them...and I think they got the message loud and clear. They've woke up and realized that their assumption that they could continue their depredations with impunity is unfounded. The quarry is now shooting back. And is hitting its' target - right in their wallets. And since they've shown no mercy to captives, it's "No quarters asked or given!" time. First Kamena, then the rest. Unless they cease and desist...and stop trying to gut Prop215 by back-dooring it through cooperating with the Feds.The antis have always lived in fear of the day when cannabis users become politically active. The day they discover their power. The people in California have shown the way. The rest of us should follow suit. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: