I hear from several sources (including his son, Sky Sierran Kubby, on Facebook) that Steve Kubby has died at the age of 75, "surrounded by his family." I've not seen any mainstream news stories, so I'm just passing on the sad news myself. His family and friends have my deepest sympathy for their loss.
Steve was a great man, a great libertarian, and a great friend. His work on California''s Proposition 215 counts, in my opinion, as the starting point down the road we've since followed to legal medical and recreational marijuana across much of the US. Marijuana, as he told everyone who would listen, saved his life; his efforts to end the war on it, and his explorations of its medical potential, have since saved thousands of lives, thousands of years people might otherwise have spent in prison or in chronic pain, etc.
And his work, let me add, was not just on marijuana, or even broader drug policy, although those were his main focuses. If you haven't read his first book, The Politics of Consciousness: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, it's a classic and well worth your time (that link is to the book's Amazon page; it is not an affiliate link).
Managing Steve's campaign for the Libertarian Party's 2008 presidential nomination was one of the privileges of my life. My only regret on that count -- as much for the party's sake as for his -- was that he didn't win it as he should have, and that my feeble efforts couldn't make it so.
As more "mainstream" stories on his passing and life appear, I'll update this post with links. In the meantime, his Wikipedia entry is a good place to start for more information on who and what we've all lost.
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