OSCAPELLA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-11-01 published
Medical pot activist dies after mishap handling it
Canadian Press, Saturday, November 1, 2003 - Page A10
Ottawa -- An outspoken advocate of marijuana for medicinal purposes
has died of burns he suffered when he tried to extract oil from
marijuana.
Donny APPLEBY died Thursday in the company of Friends at an Ottawa
hospital.
"He ended his life peacefully and surrounded by Friends," said
Mike FOSTER, a long-time friend and owner of Crosstown Traffic,
a cannabis paraphernalia store.
Mr. APPLEBY was an Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome patient
on a disability pension and couldn't afford the marijuana he
used for his illness.
While his Friends are trying not to turn his death into a political
issue, many are blaming the federal government for restricting
access to marijuana for medicinal purposes.
"It's a travesty that people don't have access to this stuff
- a clean, safe good source and supply of it," said Eugene
OSCAPELLA,
a lawyer with the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy and a friend
of Mr. APPLEBY.
APPLEBY suffered severe burns while
trying to extract oil from low-grade cannabis using butane, which
exploded in his apartment.
He was admitted to hospital with no chance of survival and had
been on a ventilator until his death on Thursday.
Mr. OSCAPELLA, who was at Mr.
APPLEBY's side when he died, described
his friend as an "activist who tried to help people."
"The guy didn't have a lot of strength physically, but he had
a lot of strength in other ways, and I think you've got to hand
it to him," Mr.
OSCAPELLA said.
In a July protest on Parliament Hill, Mr.
APPLEBY smoked a joint
and burned his Health Canada exemptions to demonstrate dismay
at the government's handling of medical marijuana.
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