Medical marijuana charges dropped against Steve and Michele Kubby

In an upbeat ending to a two-year legal battle, all medical marijuana charges against Steve Kubby have been dismissed, and two remaining drug charges reduced to misdemeanors.

On March 2, a Placer County, California judge imposed a small fine on Kubby and sentenced him to 120 days of alternative sentencing -- probably house arrest -- for possession of "minute" quantities of psilocybin [mushroom] and mescaline [peyote].

The judge also ruled that Kubby could continue to use medical marijuana as allowed under the state's Compassionate UseAct of 1996.

The sentencing came three months after a hung jury -- which was leaning 11-1 for acquittal -- refused to convict Kubby and his wife Michele on marijuana charges.

During the trial, the Kubbys had argued they were legitimate medical marijuana patients who took the drug under doctor's orders, and were protected by Proposition 215, the state law that legalized medical marijuana.

"We've always said we would prove our innocence and expose the prosecutors and police," said Kubby, 54, after the sentencing hearing. "Now, [because of this ruling], that's just the way the media and public see it.

"The efforts of prosecutors to destroy us have only driven people and donations to our side. Thanks to our prosecutors, the media and citizens finally get it."

However, the legal battle is not over yet: Kubby said he now expects to file a civil lawsuit against the county District Attorney for false arrest, will charge police and prosecutors with "deliberately violating [his] civil and medical rights," and will launch a recall election against the DA who prosecuted him.

"From the ashes of despair, we are rising up, empowered to recall corrupt elected officials and hold them accountable," he said. "The recent effort by [county] prosecutors to prohibit me from using medical marijuana while on probation, after days of testimony by doctors documenting how cannabis has saved my life, shows their criminal intent to violate the Compassionate Use Act.

"After all, if a patient as well documented as myself is considered ineligible to use medical marijuana in Placer County, then who is? Clearly a recall election and federal civil rights prosecutions are the only remaining solutions."

The American Medical Marijuana Association, an organization that Kubby heads, has already hired a lawyer to begin working on the lawsuits, he said.

Kubby was the LP's gubernatorial candidate in California in 1998, and sought the party's vice presidential nomination in 2000. He also played a key role in Proposition 215, which was passed by voters in 1996.

His high-profile role in the medical marijuana movement may be the reason, supporters speculate, why the Kubbys were arrested in January 1999 after a raid on their Olympic Valley home, and charged with violating 19 different drug laws.

Both pleaded not guilty to all charges, arguing that they used marijuana in accordance with the law -- Steve Kubby to treat a rare form of adrenal cancer under doctor's orders and Michele Kubby to alleviate irritable bowel syndrome.

After a four-month trial and 21 hours of deliberation, a "hopelessly deadlocked" jury said it could not reach a verdict on the most significant charges against the Kubbys -- conspiracy, cultivation, and possession of marijuana with intent to sell -- and voted 11-1 in favor of acquittal.

However, Steve Kubby was convicted of what were called "comparably minor" drug charges of possession of a controlled substance, psilocybin and peyote. Michele Kubby was acquitted of those charges.

Kubby had faced the possibility of almost four years in prison -- but at the sentencing hearing on March 2, Judge John L. Cosgrove said, "Jail would not be an appropriate place for Mr. Kubby."

Instead, he reduced the felony charges to misdemeanors, fined Kubby $2,700, imposed three years' probation, and ordered him to serve 120 days of alternative sentencing, probably electronic home monitoring.

The judge said he accepted Kubby's explanation that the psilocybin (a single mushroom stem) had been used for research for a book Kubby wrote on the religious significance of psychedelic mushrooms, and that the peyote button had been left by a visitor.

Cosgrove also noted Kubby's "impeccably clean" prior criminal record.

In addition, in an unprecedented victory for medical marijuana patients, the judge ruled that Kubby could continue using medical marijuana during his probation.

At the announcement, several dozen Proposition 215 supporters and California Libertarians erupted in applause in the Placer County courtroom.

The California LP described the ruling as "a decisive victory for medical marijuana patients."

"We are thrilled with the outcome," said California LP Executive Director Juan Ros. "This is a major step forward for all medical marijuana patients, and Libertarians are proud of Steve and Michele Kubby, who fought for their beliefs and prevailed.

"Steve and Michele were victims of a politically motivated attempt to make examples of them, and this trial should never have happened in the first place. Fortunately, we have won this battle, but the war wages on and Libertarians will continue to fight until we are victorious against the War on Drugs."

At the same sentencing hearing, the District Attorney announced that all marijuana charges against the Kubbys would be dropped, thereby avoiding a costly retrial. The DA also said he would drop similar medical marijuana charges against another Placer County couple.

"The District Attorney saw the writing on the wall and wisely decided to save the taxpayers the expense of a retrial," said Ros. "All in all, this has been a great day for patients, Libertarians, and the cause of health freedom in California."

In announcing that charges against the Kubbys had been dropped, a Deputy District Attorney said the decision was "not a comment on guilt or innocence, but rather an indictment of the vagueness" of the state's Compassionate Use Act.

The Deputy District Attorney also asked the California legislature "to establish specific guidelines with respect to the amount of marijuana appropriate for medical use."

The national Libertarian Party also congratulated the Kubbys for their victory.

"It is unfortunate that Steve and Michele had to undergo a costly, painful, and traumatic two-year legal battle just to affirm their right to take life-saving medication," said LP National Director Steve Dasbach. "However, their sacrifice may mean that hundreds or thousands of other medical marijuana patients will not have to live under the constant threat of arrest.

"Steve and Michele are real heroes, not just to the medical marijuana movement, but to Libertarians everywhere."

Now, said Kubby, with his trial and sentencing over, the counteroffensive will begin -- with lawsuits against prosecutors who "are deliberately violating the civil and medical rights of seriously ill people."

"The fight has just begun!" he said.