POT DEALER'S HUNGER STRIKE ENDS IN DEATH

In the six weeks leading up to his death Istvan Marton ate nothing
and thought a lot.

The 69-year-old was on a hunger strike, appealing to the Canadian
government to legalize marijuana, said his sister Juliana Bazso.

Bazso disapproved of her younger brother's lifestyle - she says he
was the local supplier of weed to the small Malcolm Island community
of Sointula off the coast of B.C. - but went to visit Marton as he
became progressively more sick.

"He was only half a size of what he was," she said. His doctor, Jane
Clelland, told the Times-Colonist that Marton's weight dropped from
79 kilograms to 55 kilograms on his diet of juice, water and clear soup.

Marton died of a heart attack on Nov. 20. According to Clelland, his
death was caused by a combination of the hunger strike and severe
health problems.

Bazso said her unyielding, idealistic younger brother truly believed
in his cause and thought of himself as a hero - though she did not
believe his plan to change the law would work.

In an interview with the Times Colonist published the day before his
death, Marton defended his drug dealing - mostly selling weed from
local growers to the older island population for medicinal and some
recreational use.

"I never hid it. I was the illegal supplier of marijuana for the
island and I was really proud of it," he said.

Any money he made was donated to underprivileged families, he added.

In January 2010, he was charged and convicted after the RCMP found
2.2 kilograms of marijuana in his home. He had also been charged of
possession of controlled substances in a separate incident in October.

In the Times Colonist interview, he had said that his hunger strike
would have gone on even if the charge was dropped.

The Hungarian immigrant's love affair with pot began in the '70s,
said Bazso, adding that her brother - who had spent a few months in
jail - had a challenging life.

While going through his belongings after his death, she found an
envelope labeleld "my f---ing life" that contained photos and some
papers. In it were musings from his final days, including a note that
said his doctor should get a dozen red roses every Friday.

He also apparently promised his friends $10,000 for a last hurrah
after his death, she said. But the eulogy of pot and beer will not
happen - Marton only left medical and cable bills to pay and no will,
said Bazso.

"He was a trusting soul and he thought everything was going to be
taken care of," she said.

Just three weeks before Marton's death a group of high-profile
health, academic and justice experts launched a campaign to legalize
and regulate marijuana, a move they say will cut down gang violence
and provide new tax revenue. A report released by the group, named
Stop the Violence B.C., estimates there are about 430,000 cannabis
users in B.C.

In response, the federal ministry of justice issued a brief statement
saying the government has "no intention" of decriminalize or legalize
marijuana.

With files from The Canadian Press.