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Marijuana activist dies following explosion
Ottawa Citizen ^ | November 1, 2003 | James Gordon

Posted on 11/01/2003 9:04:19 AM PST by Loyalist

CREDIT: Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press

Don Appleby died of his injuries suffered in an Oct. 12 explosion while he was trying to make a concentrated oil using marijuana and butane.

Don Appleby's fight against the aids virus that was sapping him was made more difficult by a tragic paradox. While the Ottawa man was one of the few Canadians who could legally smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes, he could rarely afford it due to his minuscule disability pension.

In the end, he was killed in the struggle to produce the drug that was helping him survive.

On Oct. 12, Mr. Appleby was in the bathroom of his Blake Boulevard apartment, trying a dangerous method to get some use out of the non-smokable parts of his marijuana plants.

By injecting butane into a plastic container with the plant in it, he hoped to make a concentrated oil he could use. Friends suspect he then tried to light a joint, igniting an explosion that blew the bathroom door off its hinges.

Residents of the apartment above his heard the explosion, and rushed him to the Ottawa Hospital's General campus. It's where he remained in intensive care since the incident, and where he died Thursday morning.

Ron Whelan was Mr. Appleby's close friend, and was living under the same circumstances. He said yesterday that Mr. Appleby never should have died the way he did.

Both 44, they received about $900 a month on disability, not nearly enough to pay for both marijuana and food. While the government would pay for the $1,500-$2,000 of aids medication Mr. Appleby needed, they wouldn't pick up the cost of the marijuana. Nausea was a side-effect of the pills, and without the drug, he couldn't keep them down.

Forced to buy marijuana himself and pay rent, his friends say Mr. Appleby was reduced to scrounging through dumpsters to find the food he could no longer afford. He would go searching behind restaurants late at night so nobody would see him. At the same time, he wasn't shy about asking people with marijuana gardens to help him.

"You do what you have to do to survive, whether it's beg, borrow or steal," Mr. Whelan said. If one had a bag of dry macaroni from the food bank, he would often go to the other's place to share.

Mr. Appleby decided to try and save some money by growing his own marijuana, and after two failed gardens, things were starting to work out for him. Still, the cost to grow was still high. With no other source of medicine, he resorted to the butane method. He never recovered from the burns that covered 75 per cent of his body and his scorched lungs.

Mr. Whelan said although Mr. Appleby experienced difficult times in the past, he really blossomed after meeting people similar to him. He loved participating in marijuana rallies, and helping others.

"The world needs more people like Donny," he said. "He was there for the underdog, and it's a terrible loss for everyone who knew him."

Mr. Whelan said he doesn't blame the government for what happened to his friend, but said it should take more responsibility and provide for people like him.

© Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen


TOPICS: Canada; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: 420; chronic; darwin; darwinaward; donappleby; explosion; ganja; grass; hippylettuce; marijuana; maryjane; pot; puffthis; reefer; spliff; warondrugs; weed; wod; wodlist
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To: Loyalist
Halifax poutine in Ottawa, Texas dogs in Jersey?

Thanks for the name of the topping. It's good stuff once you get past the concept.

281 posted on 11/03/2003 11:39:33 AM PST by CWOJackson
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To: CWOJackson
Celery? Texas?

I saw something about that on the Food channel about a month ago, where a lady who has had hot dog stand basically forever at Wrigley Field revealed her secret, celery salt on the hot dogs.

282 posted on 11/03/2003 11:40:07 AM PST by Dane
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To: CWOJackson
Celery? Texas?

Like I said, it has nothing at all to do with the state of Texas. We're weird like that in Jersey. I'm not sure what exactly a Chicago dog is.

283 posted on 11/03/2003 11:40:27 AM PST by jmc813 (Michael Schiavo is a bigger scumbag than Bill Clinton)
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To: jmc813
A Chicago dog is kind of strange...you actually get them in Chicago.

It's a great kosher dog (and yes, they use celery salt on it) that comes packed with relish, cucumbers, peppers, onions and mustard.

284 posted on 11/03/2003 11:43:18 AM PST by CWOJackson
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To: Dane; CWOJackson
For the record, it's celery diced into tiny little pieces and not whole stalks on the things. They blend right in with the onion, so you can't even distinguish them.
285 posted on 11/03/2003 11:43:50 AM PST by jmc813 (Michael Schiavo is a bigger scumbag than Bill Clinton)
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To: Dane
Yes, come to think about it...they use them on the traditional Chicago dog.

All this talk about food on a pot thread?

286 posted on 11/03/2003 11:44:04 AM PST by CWOJackson
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To: Loyalist
Better known as poutine. The best poutine is here in the Ottawa-Hull area, especially smoked meat poutine

Please correct me if I'm wrong, isn't poutine a french canucky delicacy.

I remember reading about maybe 15 years ago that poutine is on the menu in the McDonald's in Quebec.

JMO, but poutine sounds like Canadian nacho cheese. If I'm wrong please correct me.

287 posted on 11/03/2003 11:46:13 AM PST by Dane
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To: CWOJackson
I'll betcha that posting's original!
288 posted on 11/03/2003 11:47:54 AM PST by headsonpikes (Spirit of '76 bttt!)
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To: headsonpikes
And quick as well.
289 posted on 11/03/2003 11:48:47 AM PST by CWOJackson
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To: CWOJackson
Yes, come to think about it...they use them on the traditional Chicago dog.

All this talk about food on a pot thread?

Well at least, so far on this thread, there hasn't been the comparable yells of the usual Liberal mantra of, "Free Mumia", by the Libertarians shouting "Free Tommy Chong".

290 posted on 11/03/2003 11:49:43 AM PST by Dane
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To: CWOJackson
Looks like somebody's got the munchies!
291 posted on 11/03/2003 11:49:46 AM PST by headsonpikes (Spirit of '76 bttt!)
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To: All
Are there any Hawaiian freepers here?

They have a few things in McDonalds in Hawaii you don't see over here. I'm sure I'm going to butcher this: Moco Loco, and Portuguese Sausage with eggs.

Moco Loco is a hamburger patty served on top of scrambled eggs and smothered in gravy.

292 posted on 11/03/2003 11:51:12 AM PST by CWOJackson
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To: CWOJackson; Dane
All this talk about food on a pot thread?

That's a perfect reason why guys are so much more sensible than women. We can be arguing our brains out about anything under the sun, but when it comes to things like junk food, we always unite. Now someone post a Kournakova picture.

293 posted on 11/03/2003 11:53:58 AM PST by jmc813 (Michael Schiavo is a bigger scumbag than Bill Clinton)
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To: Dane
Poutine: French fries, gravy and cheese curds. No redeeming nutritional value. Quebec's contribution to fast food. The best homemade poutine is made with St-Hubert gravy mix and St-Albert cheese curds.
294 posted on 11/03/2003 11:54:12 AM PST by Loyalist
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To: Dane
Well at least, so far on this thread, there hasn't been the comparable yells of the usual Liberal mantra of, "Free Mumia", by the Libertarians shouting "Free Tommy Chong".

My take on Mumia is as follows...

...though I would replace the word "forget" with a slightly shorter f-word.

295 posted on 11/03/2003 11:56:38 AM PST by jmc813 (Michael Schiavo is a bigger scumbag than Bill Clinton)
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To: Loyalist
Poutine: French fries, gravy and cheese curds. No redeeming nutritional value. Quebec's contribution to fast food. The best homemade poutine is made with St-Hubert gravy mix and St-Albert cheese curds.

I am going to have to try poutine sometime. It sounds good. Maybe I can market in the US with an Anglo sounding name. That would really piss the french off.

296 posted on 11/03/2003 11:58:38 AM PST by Dane
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To: jmc813
Of course, a politican with "trafic" in his name.

Just joking. I always thought that him and Lott both needed to go just because of their terrible wigs.

297 posted on 11/03/2003 11:59:42 AM PST by CWOJackson
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To: Loyalist; Dane
Poutine: French fries, gravy and cheese curds. No redeeming nutritional value.

Here in Jersey, we have that but with cheese instead of curds. We call 'em "disco fries".

298 posted on 11/03/2003 12:00:51 PM PST by jmc813 (Michael Schiavo is a bigger scumbag than Bill Clinton)
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To: Dane
As I mentioned, we used to go up to Canada a lot (Essex County, Ontario) when we live in Toledo, British Columbia and Alberta here.

We loved Poutine in most places (I couldn't remember the name); it's messy as heck and good eating.

Also, try clotted cream and black current preserves on a scone for breakfast with some good coffee.

299 posted on 11/03/2003 12:03:02 PM PST by CWOJackson
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To: CWOJackson; Dane
If y'all want an example of how weird we Jerseyans are about our hot dogs, check out this thread about a Jersey FReeper gathering that I'm still kicking myself for missing.
300 posted on 11/03/2003 12:10:39 PM PST by jmc813 (Michael Schiavo is a bigger scumbag than Bill Clinton)
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