See
Tahoe Paper Carries Front Page Article Laying Out The Battle Lines In The Kubby Case:
"We think this will be the ‘Scopes Monkey Trial’ of medical marijuana," said Steve Kubby.
"This entire clash of cultures and ideology will be on the table."
and
Prosecutor To Give Kubbys’ Case To Grand Jury
Where They Will Have Fewer Rights Than In Preliminary Hearing In Open Court.
The real subject of this article is not just medical marijuana, but also the stupidity of losing control of law enforcement. It wastes money better spent on real problems. It will cost money when the victims sue for damages. And it is a threat to all our freedoms in the meantime.)
See
How Marijuana Prohibition Corrupts All Of Our Institutions
– Medicine, Law Enforcement, Journalism
And How That Corruption Sustains Prohibitionism

WHAT WILL MAKE PLACER TAKE MEDICAL POT SERIOUSLY?

See
National Libertarian Party Ready To Focus On Placer County,
Where 8 People Using Medicinal Marijuana With Doctor Approval Have Been Raided,
Harassed, Imprisoned, And Persecuted By The Placer County Sheriff Despite Prop 215.

We will find out this month whether Placer County prosecutors continue to pursue criminal charges against medical marijuana patients, or attempt to come to grips with California’s medical marijuana law.

See
Kubby Trial Scheduled for July 20 – National Publicity Expected

The District Attorney’s Office is due in court Thursday to announce whether it will retry Rocklin dentist Michael Baldwin and his wife Georgia on cultivation of marijuana for sale.

Some thought the D.A. would drop the remaining counts against the Baldwins in April after Superior Court Judge James Garbolino dismissed cultivation charges against them.

Garbolino reviewed Proposition 215, the 1996 Compassionate Use Act approved by California voters, and other legal precedents, and ruled that the medical marijuana initiative protected the Baldwins from prosecution for cultivation.

But county prosecutors pursued cultivation for sales charges against the Baldwins, basing their case solely on the number of plants they grew and their possession of turkey basting bags.

A jury deadlocked 6-6 on Michael Baldwin’s guilt and voted 7-5 for Georgia Baldwin’s acquittal on May 12 before Garbolino declared the case a mistrial.

On July 19, jury selection will begin on what is already a highly publicized medical marijuana case - the prosecution of Steve and Michele Kubby of Olympic Valley.

Steven Kubby was a key leader in California’s medical marijuana movement, and openly espoused the use of pot - cannabis is the scientific term - for his cancer condition when he ran for governor last year as a Libertarian.

The North Tahoe Task Force investigated the Kubbys for six months after receiving an anonymous letter that accused Kubby, who publishes an online adventure magazine, of growing marijuana and selling it to raise funds for his campaign.

The Kubbys never made any secret of their growing pot. They had obtained the proper legal and medical paperwork and, once they knew they were under surveillance, left flyers in the trash informing police of their status as medical marijuana patients.

When the task force raided the Kubbys on Jan. 19 - complete with battering ram and body armor - they confiscated the couple’s computer (their livelihood), personal papers, autographed books, posters, all keys, bank records, petty cash and even the $200 the Kubbys had in their wallets.

See
Court Refuses to Return The Kubbys’ Computers, Forcing Them Into Bankruptcy;
How Seizing Computers Undermines Our 4^th Amendment And Other Basic Rights.

They also seized their passports and Social Security cards. (Incidentally, the Kubbys still have not received a copy of their computer records, despite a February court directive.)

The Kubbys believe they represent an exemplary test case to establish the legitimacy of Prop. 215. They insist prosecutors will have no evidence of marijuana sales, while the Kubbys will be able to document their medical need, including Steve’s otherwise fatal adrenal cancer.

"What are they going to do?" Steve Kubby asked this week. "Kill me by sending me to jail, or give me medical marijuana? If they sent me to jail, Placer County would be accused of human rights violations."

Joe Farina, a Sacramento attorney who represents Michele Kubby, predicted that Placer County officials will not take Prop. 215 seriously unless they receive setbacks in court.

"For some people, it takes a series of jury verdicts or monetary awards before they accept a change," Farina said. "They thought they had Baldwin dead to rights, but if they couldn’t beat Baldwin, they’re going to have a hard time convicting Steve and Michele."

As the high-profile cases head to court, Placer County deputies continue to bust lesser-known marijuana growers, regardless of whether they have valid letters from their physicians. Many live in Sacramento County.

Robert De Arkland, 71, is a retired real estate estimator and heavy equipment operator who lives in Fair Oaks. Placer County investigators broke down his unlocked door in October and seized 13 plants he was growing under a physician’s guidance.

See
Dead Plants Returned To California Cancer Patient Under Court Order In Placer County
and links
Sacramento prosecutors dismissed cultivation charges against De Arkland in April, and the court ordered Placer County to return his plants. But the feisty retiree hit Placer County with a $25.2 million claim and may file a lawsuit against the county as soon as this week.

"Placer County has a real weird attitude," De Arkland said Friday. "They are going out of their jurisdiction and messing with sick people."

One way or another, Placer County will eventually have to recognize the validity of Prop. 215, and end its policy of arresting first and asking questions later.