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Tag: Pot Cookie

  • Pot Cookie Blamed in Student’s Fall To Death

    A pot cookie has been blamed for the death of 19-year-old Levy Thamba Pongi, a native of the Republic of Congo. Pongi fell from his motel balcony on March 11 and died from injuries sustained from the fall.

    Pongi attended college in Wyoming but was visiting Colorado on spring break. Colorado recently legalized the use of marijuana and Pongi had decided to try a pot cookie that had been legally purchased in one of the new marijuana shops in Denver.

    Pongi’s friends claim that after eating the cookie, Pongi began to act strange and violent. They said that he began tearing pictures and decorations off of walls in the hotel room and speaking erratically. The friends tried to calm him down and just when they thought he would be fine, he ran outside and jumped from the hotel balcony.

    Although Pongi did jump from the balcony, his friends and police do not believe that he was attempting to commit suicide and his death has been ruled an accident.

    Colorado legalized the recreational sales of the drug in January. While many people were excited about the legalization of marijuana in the state of Colorado, there were many who felt it was bad news for the state and would spark crime and violence. Laws require buyers to be at least 21 years old in order to purchase any type or marijuana product.

    Pongi was not old enough to purchase marijuana and one of his older friends bought it for him instead. Police have not commented on whether or not they plan to press charges against the person who bought the cookie for Pongi.

    Pongi was a student at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming. The incident marks the first time a Denver medical examiner’s office has listed a marijuana edible as a contributor to a death.

    Do you think the friend who purchased the pot cookie should be held responsible for Pongi’s death?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Pot Cookie Blamed for Death of 19-Year Old

    Although not a single person has ever died from a marijuana overdose, the drug is being blamed for the death of a 19-year old college student.

    Levi Thamba Pongi, a native of the Republic of Congo, was visiting Denver on spring break with his friends, one of which legally purchased a marijuana cookie in one of Colorado’s recreational pot shops.

    After eating the cookie, Pongi “exhibited hostile behavior,” pulling things off of the hotel walls and speaking erratically before going outside and jumping off of the balcony.

    The marijuana concentration in Pongi’s blood was 7.2 nanograms of active THC per milliliter of blood. Colorado law says that a user is impaired if their blood contains more than 5 nanograms per milliliter.

    Colorado law also bans the sale of recreational marijuana to those under the age of 21. However, one of Pongi’s friends was old enough to purchase the cookie. No word as to if the friend will face charges.

    Pongi’s body was tested for over 200 substances, but his blood only tested positive for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

    “This was not a suicide, and he was not a regular drug user,” said Michelle Weiss-Samaras, a spokesperson for the Denver coroner’s office.

    The Denver Police are still investigating the death, which they are calling an accident, but the autopsy lists the cause as “multiple injuries due to a fall from height” and says that “marijuana intoxication is a significant contributing factor.”

    Though scientific studies have not been able to prove that marijuana use leads to violent behavior and suicidal thoughts, some groups still continue to fight the war against it, despite the fact that research has suggested that THC has therapeutic value to patients suffering from AIDS and cancer.

    However, while marijuana-related death remains extremely low (13 of the 15 related to other factors, and the remaining 2 related to pre-existing health problems) the total number of alcohol-induced deaths exceeded 25,000 in 2010.

    Pongi, an exchange student, was studying engineering at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming.

    Northwest said in a statement, “The Northwest College campus community continues to grieve after Levy’s death. All of us were deeply saddened by this tragic incident and feel for his family.”


    Image via YouTube