MSU student death caused by single stab wound

Drugs and suicide. RIP Dancing Don, you truly were an angel.

What a sad ending. We all miss and love you Disco Don!

See, drugs are mentioned and now the whole community will be in an uproar. Why? Because drugs are the worst thing imaginable, destroy society and now will be blamed upon for the death of this young man.

THC does not cause you ti kill yourself, although Hawaiian Baby Wood Rose has LSD-type effects from what my friend has told me (from experience). But to blame drugs for this kid’s death is just not fair. I am just posting this now because I know somebody will blame drugs for ending his life, which I am sure is just not true.

Check out this link:

http://statenews.com/index.php/article/2009/01/cause_remains_undetermined_in_death_of_msu_student

Cause of death remains undetermined? Did they miss the large stab wound to the chest??

Go to www.donsfriend.com, THAT is Don!!!! Period!! What a
GREAT young man!

I agree with anon. Did they miss the hole in his chest? I didn’t know the guy, but I hope he rests in peace.

Comparing pot to LSD is stupid. Neither of which should be mentioned in the article. RIP, from what I’ve heard Don was a great person.

I wish they would tell the whole story… This obviously isn’t everything

@ Uh Oh: Yes, I’m sure the drugs had nothing to do with it. He probably just felt like stabbing himself with a knife—the drugs in his system were likely just a coincidence.

Don’t ignore the magnitude of problems caused by drugs. This was by all accounts a wonderful young man, who may have made a tragic mistake while under the influence.

Drugs were probably a contributing factor in his death. Same as a drunk person finally getting over that barrier to take their own life, marijuana was probably a factor in his death and should be reported by any responsible organization.

I am not making an judgment on the legalization of marijuana, but to say it had zero influence is silly. Just as it is equally silly that he did it just because of marijuana. It sounds like a troubled young man did not win the battle with his own demons.

I also think it is a bit crass to try to defend a political position that no one even started a conversation about when clearly the main point of the article is concerning the tragedy of a young man taking his own life.

Don was a fantastic guy. He spent so much of his life helping other people who were less fortunate than him. He shouldn’t have gone the way he did.

We all wish you could still be here with us Don!

Steve…You need to google hawaiian woodrose seeds and read the effects it has on the human body. Such experiences include hallucinations, changes of perception, synesthesia, altered states of awareness, mystical states, and occasionally states resembling psychosis. This great young man mistakenly took a substance that took control of his senses and ultimately caused his death. We need not dwell on how he died but how he lived his life helping others. Don RIP

one of the main things, I think, is whether marijuana mixed with LSA (these seeds) had some kind of malicious effect. notice how carefully-worded this stuff is, though. his blood and urine contained THC; blood and urine can continue to contain it for up to a month. we’re not necessarily talking someone who’d just smoked a bowl and then went straight for a handful of seeds. the fact is he could have touched pot a week beforehand, in which case it would certainly not have much bearing on his state of mind.

don was one of my best friends. I am positive that he didn’t take his own life in a lucid state. he was probably on a bad trip, scared, panicking, and made a terrible decision.

A lot of people think because something is natural it can’t be dangerous, so maybe his friend really did think that the baby woodrose seeds wouldn’t hurt him … that’s too bad. The person must feel really guilty.

I don’t know how it is today, but when I was an undergrad in the early 90’s, a lot of people bought various seeds and used them to get high and trip. The thing is, if you do this, you need to know how to prepare them or they can poison you. Sometimes you have to cook them in a certain way, sometimes you have to scrape a coating off the seeds.

I’m not saying Don did this, but if anyone reading this feels like going an alternative route for a natural high or trip, be aware you have to know what you are doing, or you can put yourself in danger. Also, if you mix these with any other drug, it can have the same multiplying effect on strength that mixing conventional drugs will. So be careful, everybody.

So tragic. Please everyone realize that there is help out there if you are hurting.

Drugs are not a way to make things better. MSU has many services you can take advantage of to help. Trust me, there are those who can relate to the problems afflicting you.

It’s sad that this kid probably had a hallucination that caused him to stab himself. Whether he imagined something was after him or accidentally tripped over something and impaled himself it’s still sad. Although at the same time when you do drugs you risk your life in some way. Especially mixing things like that. I will be praying for his family and friends.

RIP Don! We all miss you so much! It sucks that you went this way :(

From Wikipedia:

“Users should be warned that ingestion of this substance has been associated on extremely rare occasions, with severe adverse psychiatric symptoms including acute psychosis and suicidality.

A curious effect of the seeds is an urge to stretch and extend limbs and muscles in the arms and legs, similarly to LSD; this may be present as slow and controlled writhing, stretching or muscle rubbing whilst laying or sitting down. This sensation has been likened to itching or tingling in the muscles and can make it physically impossible to sleep. A curious sensation of the ability to see within and beneath the layer of skin to the internal tissues of ones own, or anothers body may also be experienced.”

@Tragic:

Your post is heartfelt but I don’t think it applies to Don’s situation. I had known Don for a while, and I’m quite sure he wasn’t running from anything. I think his drug usage more reflected curiosity and a desire to experiment than anything else.

RIP

Suicidality? … this is why you shouldn’t trust anything you simply find in a google search.

Stop over-reacting about the THC and the Rosewood seeds. I’ve never personally done rosewood seeds, so no, I don’t know the effect they may have on someone. However, as someone who ISN’T a low-life, deadbeat, suicidal maniac who has experimented with various drugs, I just find it hard to believe that he would trip so bad from a natural drugs that he would end up stabbing himself. I didn’t know Don, he sounds like a really great person, and it sucks that this is turning into a mini-Cobain saga, but stop blaming drugs. It would be pretty difficult for me to count the number of MSU students I know who regularly smoke weed and occasionally experiment with other drugs, who are some of the most intelligent and driven people I know. They are doing great things with their lives and majoring in “difficult” subjects such as Math, Physics, Environmental Science, Engineering, etc. So stop with the drugs are bad argument. It’s just a bunch of BS, fueled by fear of the unknown.

There’s such thing as accountability, and some people don’t seem to understand that accountability also applies to putting substances in your body. Drugs aren’t bad IF you experiment responsibly. If this was caused by a hallucination, then let this be a lesson that you need to do research on a drug before you try it. Don’t just go to Wiki and see SUICIDALITY, which isn’t even a word, and run with it.

RIP Don.

@BS: “Drugs aren’t bad IF you experiment responsibly.”

This is the kind of ignorant “take” that causes people to take foolish risks and make poor decisions with their lives. Because you have “experimented responsibly” (which is very likely an oxymoron when it comes to drugs) doesn’t mean that drugs are safe. You may have been lucky so far—Don was not.

for the record, woodrose is rather weak as far as psychedelics go. It is not harmful.

Regardless of the drugs, a student is dead. If this doesn’t show the effects that drugs can have on a person, I don’t know what else does. I understand that it’s easy and tempting to experiment, but are you really willing to risk your life just for a high??

Any mind altering drug needs to be taken with caution. LSA is safe when taken responsibly and you understand the dangers that come with it, thats why its always advisable to have a trip sitter for those sort of things- even if its a ‘soft’ drug like woodrose or morning glory seeds. Also, to blame pot is just ignorant and to do that jut shows someones lack of knowledge about the cannabis plant…

How hard is it for all of us to just put things aside and open our eyes to look at what’s really happened? I’ve known Don my whole life and I can assure you that this is NOT how he would want people to react to a tragic accident. Fact of the matter is, Don made a dangerous, but honest mistake. In his right mind, Don would have never done this. If he was suicidal he would have gone to the people who shower him with love.

All I ask is to resepect him for what he did. He helped numerous communities that were underprivlaged and he made a difference in this big world. Of course we need to learn from this but at the same time, lets remember Don for what he was: a warm, loving, charismatic young man who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Don, I think I speak on behalf of everyone you’ve deeply touched and everyone you came encounter with, we all love and miss you and I know I will take away everything you taught me to make a difference. We love and miss you Don and you’ll forever stay alive in our hearts.

Rest In Peace