VANCOUVER -- Medical marijuana activist Steve Kubby is free after spending nearly six weeks in a California jail, but his legal problems are not over.

The former B.C. resident has a court hearing scheduled for March 14 in Placer County, Calif., when it is expected prosecutors will say whether Mr. Kubby will face charges of violating his probation as a result of moving to Canada with his family in 2001.

"Our position will be a medical defence," said Mr. Kubby, who indicated he is in good health although he lost nearly 30 pounds (14 kilograms) while in custody.

He suffers from a rare form of adrenal cancer and explained that in 2001, he did not believe U.S. authorities would allow him to use marijuana, which he says controls his symptoms. "I truly believed my life was on the line," he said during a phone interview yesterday from Auburn, Calif.

Mr. Kubby, 59, was released from the Placer County jail on Monday night after serving one-third of a 120-day sentence originally handed down in 2001 for possessing part of a psychedelic mushroom and a peyote button. The drug possession conviction came after Placer County prosecutors failed to convict Mr. Kubby on charges he was selling marijuana to compassion clubs.

The early release was a result of good-behaviour credits issued to Mr. Kubby and because of an overcrowding problem, said Captain John Fitzgerald, who is in charge of the Placer County jail. Mr. Kubby earned a reduction in his sentence through a jail credit program known as "good time-work time." With a shortage of beds, the jail is focused on ensuring there is space for people in custody on more serious charges, such as murder, Capt. Fitzgerald said.

Placer County district attorney Chris Cattran, who prosecuted Mr. Kubby on the marijuana trafficking and other drug charges and is still in charge of his case, did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.

Mr. Kubby, his wife Michele and their two young daughters had been living in Sun Peaks until January, when Mr. Justice Yvon Pinard of the Federal Court of Canada rejected their request for a stay of a removal order.

The judge said it was "speculative" that Mr. Kubby would be sent to jail or that his health would be at risk.

The onetime Libertarian candidate for governor of California was immediately taken into custody upon his return to the United States.

The first few days in custody were very difficult on his health, although medical officials and guards at the jail were eventually very helpful, Mr. Kubby said.

He was denied marijuana but allowed to use Marinol, a synthetic form of THC manufactured by a large pharmaceutical company.

The Marinol he received cost $65 a day, Mr. Kubby said, but it helped keep his blood pressure under control, and only marijuana plants have been more effective in dealing with his symptoms. His supply of the drug was paid for by donations.

His wife and daughters, who are 9 and 6, are with relatives and did not see Mr. Kubby in jail.