In The Care Of The State.

In another update from Michele Kubby we can see that being in the care of the "authorities" means little when they render no care.

A contact in Placer has just called to give me an update on Steve.I'm so glad someone heard from him. His main concern at this point is that Placer is not documenting the effects of his disease on his body or taking his illness seriously. His blood pressure is at 166/108. Placer is not testing for blood in his urine, either. Placer has also turned down Steve's request for Tylenol pain killer.

Steve wanted to express his gratitude for the calls. They are making a difference. One Sergeant, named Sanders has made sure that Steve is warm and has a blanket and pillow now, because of your concern. One thing my friend did say, Steve sounds amped and angry. This is to be expected because of the adrenaline in his body.I hope this is resolved on Tuesday. Thanks for being there.-Michele

Refusal to grant so simple a request as some Tylenol for pain is unconscionable and nothing short of cruel and is certainly inhumane. What else is to be expected, tho? We can easily see that Steve Kubby has already experienced a complete an utter lack of care at their hands and the one instance of compassion, days after his incarceration comes from a single individual.

In an earlier comment one reader suggested that folks should contact California Governor Arnold Schartzenegger. This is a good idea and one people should take advantage of. If there is a single person who has it within their ability to grant Steve mercy then it is the governor of the Republic of California. Contact information for the Governor is:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633

To send an Electronic Mail please visit:
http://www.govmail.ca.gov

John, whoever you are...my thanks!

I already know of one brother in arms who has taken the opportunity to do this, as I will be doing, too. I'm not suggesting that people swamp the Governors office with irate letters. Calmness is called for in this endeavour. But firm resolution should not be left out. Votes, good publicity and dollars speak louder to politicians than anything on this planet. When that politician also happens to be member of the acting profession that means even more. Get out your pens and keyboards, folks. Let Arnold know about Steve and see to it that he takes a stand one way or another. While freeing Steve must be the ultimate goal a negative stance by the Governor of California opens another door. The enemy of my enemy might just be a friend and Arnold has plenty of those already.

Take a moment and let your fingers do the talking.

And please remember, if you are a foreign visitor you too can and should let the Governor know. Despite what some American politicians might have you believe we do care what people think of us, in the long run. It's hard to be a shining beacon in the darkness when the Nazgul obscure the view.

UPDATE: This evening Drug War Rant posted links to transcripts of phone conversations with Steve Kubby. These conversations are an up close and personal look into Mr. Kubby's current condition and his treatment while in custody. Yet one more example of the uncaring and unmerciful nature of the "authorities" and more than enough reason why Steve should NOT be in their "care".

No News Is Good News? An Update.

While many of us out here in the "free world" were sleeping in, attending services of one sort or another, spending time with our families or any number of other things Steve Kubby was huddled in a cell in Placer County, California, in a damp, cold cell without benefit of even so much as a blanket.

The most recent update I have run across was a letter from Michelle Kubby on their website, The Kubby Chronicles. From her description things do indeed look bleak. Even tho the "authorities" have consented to "allow" Steve Kubby an inferior form of medication, they have also forced him to sign a waiver absolving them of all guilt should he die while in their custody.

It seems that Placer has moved him from the infirmary to solitary confinement. He has a cell all to himself and he was freezing. Again they are ignoring his pleas for a blanket and have left him to shiver and chatter in a cold cell. Remember, this is in the foothills of the Western Sierra. It is very cold and the cold is a damp cold. I'm afraid he will be looking at getting pneumonia soon if he is not warmed up.

This is exactly the cruel and inhumane treatment I described to Canadian officials, that would happen if Steve were returned to the US. I also told them repeatedly that Steve would be immediately arrested upon his arrival at SFO, which is exactly what happened. Of course the Canadian government officials that judged our case responded to my pleas for protection from this grim future by turning a blind eye, ignoring evidence, and refusing to do the right thing when they could. They cannot see what they have done, for to do so would have to mean that they were wrong and have made a terrible life threatening mistake.

This, of course, is exactly the position that Placer is in. To admit that they are wrong about the life saving properties of cannabis is impossible. Better to test this theory out and see if it can really save a life.

Steve always liked to give us good news. So, the good news about today is that the Marinol is helping to control the rectal bleeding he was experiencing as well as the blood pressure. Of course Marinol does not contain the catacholimes present in the whole plant, and these have been shown by Dr. Guzman of Spain to have the properties of inhibiting a protein necessary for blood vessel development, which results in the cancer tissue being denied nutrients as well as teaching cancer cells to die.

With Marinol, Steve is only partly protected. Because Marinol uses only the THC active portion of the cannabis plant, his tumors are now free to grow again. This type of tumor is particularly apt to grow into the spinal cord, brain and organs.

And, as if that were not enough to get MY blood pressure up, we have this:

This all brings me to the most disturbing news of the day: Steve asked our friend to relay that Placer deputies have forced/ intimidated him into signing a waiver which states that Steve absolves Placer County of any responsibility if he dies in their care, because he has refused to take conventional, alpha and beta blocker blood pressure medication.

The problem with this medication, is that it only protects Steve from a certain level of blood pressure attacks. If Steve's body decides to raise his blood pressure over the protection of the alpha and beta blockers, then it will be like Mt. Vesuvius erupting and unless he is in a hospital with access to an IV drip, he will not get the blood pressure medication he would need to control the life threatening blood pressures wreaking his body.

Placer County is playing with fire. I pray that they educate themselves on what happens when fire gets out of control.

Your phone call, e-mail or fax could save us. Your voice could be the one that make the difference and saves our family!

What more could it possibly take to get someone off of their keister and into the streets? More than this, I imagine. While this is all occurring over the weekend, by careful deliberation and planning on the part of the "authorities", no doubt, the so-called Mainstream Media have been carefully ignoring the story. It is the weekend after all.

I can't say that I am "in the loop" for news of Mr. Kubby, anymore than lots of us out here are. I, like many other bloggers am passing along information from a variety of sources, some of whom are in contact with Mr. Kubby's family and intimate associates in the hopes that some regular reader picks up the banner and decides to join the fight for liberty and freedom.

There are some serious, and potentially life changing aspects to this story for me, too. As I stated in a previous post I was researching an article on medical marijuana, related to Steve Kubby's arrest and came upon the fact that my own mother could have benefitted from using it. If she were still alive and had been using medical marijuana then SHE could be in that same situation as Mr. Kubby. That makes this personal for me. In the end all of these cases are about family and friends. Make no mistake, Mr. Kubby and I have never met, it is likely that we never shall...even moreso now that he has fallen into the hands of the State and is at their "mercy", (a quality that all rational people know the State lacks), but he is a part of my family. The libertarian family. The Human Family. The Lakota have a phrase, "Mitakuye O'yasin". It means "All My Relations"...that covers Steve Kubby, my "cousin".

The life changing aspect of this comes in knowing who your friends are. Over the last few days I have sent a number of emails to friends asking them to aid in keeping Steve Kubby at the forefront of the blogosphere, in the hope that the "Mainstream Media" will get on the bandwagon and make this issue known via their news "services". Many of these are fellow libertarians, alternative medicine advocates, "patriots" and lovers of freedom. To date I have heard back from just one. One out of dozens of people whom I have a link with. And that one, (you know who you are, brother!) understands this. He's not an advocate for medical marijuana. He's an advocate for freedom and sovereign self. For responsibility and justice and he is my brother in arms.

As for the others...maybe they've gone fishing, decided to take time with their families or any number of things. Maybe it's not an "issue" for them. Perhaps it is a political matter and they cannot be seen to support medical marijuana, because it is not a local issue. Perhaps it it's because Steve Kubby and medical marijuana are far down the new list of Libertarian priorities in this election year and mustn't be addressed. I just don't know.

What I do know is that Steve Kubby is not having a good Sunday. He, unlike so many of us, is not surrounded by his family and beloved friends. He is surrounded by cold walls, armed guards and in the hands of an entity which wants him to go away. I don't know about you, folks but I'm going to take a moment today to hold my family a little closer, because I don't know if, or when I might find myself in Mr. Kubby's shoes.

What are you going to do today?






(Special thanks to InsightBB for tanking my Internet Service for 5 hours....)

A Steve Kubby UpDate

I know that the folks who are out there following the case of Steve Kubby may have seen some of this info, but some of you may not have. Here are some new updates one Steve and his current condition.

Steve is in the Placer County Jail and is suffering symptoms of his cancer, since the authorities will not allow him access to his medical marijuana.

Brad Spangler posts an unconfirmed report, via Hammer of Truth that the "authorities" have consented to allow Mr. Kubby access to Marinol, an "inferior" synthetic form of THC. There are also links to information concerning vigils and financial assistance.

Background info from the Globe and Mail, for those needing background.

For continual coverage in the blogosphere please take a moment to check out Technorati. Simply search for "Steve Kubby". You can bring up a mini window tracker that updates every 60 seconds.

I, and many, many others will be keeping track of Mr Kubby's story as it unfolds.

It would be nice if the "authories" would allow Mr. Kubby to use a medicine which is perfectly legal in the Republic of California. Given the current state of affairs in that state and the rest of the nation, tho I have little hope of that.

Please take a moment or two and contact the "authorities" in Placer County and express your disproval of Mr. Kubby's treatment.

Contact:
Bradford R. Fenocchio
Placer County District Attorney
(530) 889-7000
(530) 889-7129 fax
bfenocch@placer.ca.gov

Steve Kubby may be contacted with letters at the following address. Commisary funds, (postal money orders only with no letters) may also be tendered at the following address.

Steve Kubby BK 49899
c/o Placer Co Jail
2775 Richardson Drive
Auburn, CA 95603

Hopefully Mr. Kubby will survive this attempt at politicide.

Bad Medicine?

When I initially began this post a few days ago, I knew I was going to have to delay posting it. It was too emotionally straining to try and write it. Not because I know Mr. Steve Kubby, I do not.With a few days between then and now it is easier, but not a lot. As I write this Steven Kubby sits in a California jail awaiting extradition to Placer County, California, a place he fled some years ago in order to save his life after the State had decided that he should go to jail for refusing to give in to a rare form of adrenal cancer.

Earlier this month the Authorities in Canada, where Mr.Kubby had mistakenly fled to save his life decided that they would placate their friends in the lower 48 and send him back to be imprisoned and, possibly die. That would certainly save the State a great deal of trouble. They could remove Mr. Kubby by simply doing nothing, while he is in their custody. It is a certainty that they will not allow him access to his medical marijuana, a substance which has managed to keep him alive for many years when "traditional" medicine would have written him off and allowed him to expire.

I sincerely hope that Mr. Kubby does not become another martyr in the War Against People, as did Peter McWilliams. I first learned of Peter McWilliams by reading his book, "Ain't Nobody's Business if You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Country".

In researching this piece I ran across some interesting facts about medical marijuana, facts about which I had been ignorant and which, had I known them could have possibly saved my own mothers life and made her last days vastly more comfortable. You see, my mother suffered from diabetic myopathy. That's a diabetes induced nerve degeneration that causes extreme pain, loss of movement and often-times loss of limbs. Her pain was excruciating, to say the least. Sure, she wasn't the best at controlling her diabetic condition, but most people who suffer from diabetic myopathy aren't good at controlling it. Why? Because ANY small pleasure that brings a momentary relief is welcomed by pain sufferers.

Research into the use of medical marijuana in the treatment of diabetic myopathy, (something the government would swear has never been done, despite the reality) has shown that it alleviates the pain as well as opiates and even retards the degeration of nerve tissue. That, and its cost compared to prescription drugs alone should warrant patients being told of the benefits of medical marijuana.

We have seen all the research that tells us that medical marijuana works. The majority of people in this country, according to poll after poll, are firmly in favour of making medical marijuana available to patients for a variety of ailments. The people in almost 1/5th of this nations states have said, via referenda that it is the law of the land. Only one entity and it's enforcers stands in the way. The Federal government. They continue to persecute citizens who commit no crime. They coerce law enforcement and courts to bend to their will, using the carrot of cash and power. All to our detriment. This must stop. Perhaps, Mr. Kubby's case will be the straw that breaks the back of the rabid camel, but I doubt it.

I cannot help but think that if my mother had been able to overcome decades of anti-marijuana propaganda, had had access to marijuana and would have used it conscientiously she might still be with us today. Instead, every September 11th I will be thinking of losing her and not anyone else.

Mr. Kubby, my thoughts are with and your family. I can only hope that the State manages to find its compassion and sensibilities in your case and I hope the good citizens of California have the fortitude to do the right thing and see to your freedom should the Authorities refuse to set you free. In the end, it is up to "We The People".



UPDATE: Reports from independent sources have already started coming in that Steve Kubby is being denied his medication and is experiencing symptoms of his cancer. Whether or not the "authorities" will allow him to have access to his normal treatments or even traditional medicine is unknown.
From a release by the California NORML folks:

“I’m really sick already,” Kubby said from jail two hours afterwards, “I’m gonna start puking my brains out.” He says his guards laughed at him when he requested Marinol. Kubby says he hasn’t had marijuana for half a day and has begun to experience all of the symptoms of his life-threatening disease - nausea, headaches, swollen kidneys. He has chills and has not been able to get a blanket from the guards.”They don’t understand that they’re dealing with someone with cancer,” he says.

More to come...