Facing a trial in Placer County on felony marijuana charges, high-profile medical pot proponent Steven Kubby has written to supervisors asking them to turn up the heat on the people who busted him.

Kubby and his wife, Michele, are scheduled to go to trial July 20 in connection with a drug raid on their Olympic Valley home and confiscation of 265 marijuana plants. They maintain the plants are for their own personal use and are legal under Proposition 215, the medicinal marijuana law passed by voters in 1996.
See
Kubby Trial Scheduled for July 20 – National Publicity Expected

Kubby’s letter describes the Jan. 19 raid and the impact on his family. Noting he presented medical documentation before his arrest and the seizure of his plants, Kubby is calling on supervisors to "protect the sick and dying members of your community" and investigate the investigators.

The Kubbys have filed bankruptcy since the raid and are living in Orange County.
See
Court Refuses to Return The Kubbys’ Computers, Forcing Them Into Bankruptcy;
How Seizing Computers Undermines Our 4^th Amendment And Other Basic Rights.

In an interview, Kubby said the letter is a call to action for supervisors to investigate and use their influence to change law enforcement procedure. Instead of arresting people who are growing marijuana under the tenets of Prop. 215 as potential sellers, investigators should be determining who the sellers are first.

"It’s lazy police work if you can’t get out there and show someone is selling," Kubby said. "We have to wake up and realize this is a serious violation of human rights."

Placer County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Dan Hall said the Kubbys face serious felony charges so the department is unable to comment. Auburn-area Supervisor Harriet White said Monday that supervisors received a lengthy treatise from Kubby and referred it to the County Counsel’s Office. "This is a judicial problem and although he might be using a substance for medical reasons, there’s still the concern on the part of law enforcement that they make sure everything is done properly," White said. "Whether his human rights were violated when they were checking, I don’t know." On the question of arresting the Kubbys, White said she doesn’t know all the facts. But the decision on seeking continued incarceration is a judgment call by the District Attorney’s Office, she said.

Kubby, who polled 65,000 votes as the Libertarian gubernatorial candidate in the last election, can speak for himself, White said.

"People get in touch with me and I check (on some law enforcement complaints) but I think Steven Kubby can handle things on his own," White said. Kubby said he rejects the idea of having medicinal marijuana users register with law enforcement and submit to inspections of their pot gardening efforts on demand. It’s a solution now being used by the federal government in Canada.

(Marijuananews note: No it isn’t.)

See
Canadian Health Minister Issues Call To All Pot Growers To Send Him Their Resumes.
In The Meantime, He Is Going To Try To Get Marijuana From DEAland.
Maybe He Will Have Better Luck Than Our Own Researchers.
Two AIDS Patients Get Exemptions.

In San Jose and San Francisco, law enforcement "grabbed" records and used them to "track down" users, Kubby said.

Kubby’s letter states that dozens of medicinal marijuana patients have been "raided, arrested, humiliated, looted and destroyed" by Placer County Sheriff’s Department "all in a vain attempt to uphold a corrupt and failing drug policy."

Questioned in an interview, Kubby said he had no personal documentation on "several dozen" patients involved in the alleged raids.

Kubby, 52, smokes marijuana because he was diagnosed 23 years ago with cancer of the adrenal gland. He recently underwent a new series of tests under the cancer specialist who initially diagnosed the fatal disease. The doctor said it was still present. Michele Kubby, 32, also has a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana - as treatment for an intestinal disorder.

The upcoming trial is considered a potentially major test case for Prop. 215. The couple face charges of conspiracy and possession with intent to sell.

Kubby is also making his case known to the national news media. A news release faxed by Kubby to media throughout the country said the nationally syndicated, tabloid news program "Inside Edition" will air a segment on his case. "Inside Edition" is telecast on ABC’s KXTV Channel 10 in the Sacramento area at 1:06 a.m. Saturday. Kubby said his story has generated more than 100 news articles since his arrest.

Note: To find your local station and time for the "Inside Edition" segment being shown Friday, 2 July, visit http://www.inside-edition.com/index11.htm