The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a report released Friday, says the case of a teen who leaped to his death from a Denver hotel balcony after eating a marijuana-infused cookie illustrates “a potential danger” with edible pot.
The CDC, along with a Colorado health official and Denver’s medical examiner’s office, said the death suggests the need for greater public health education to discourage marijuana overconsumption.
Levy Thamba, a 19-year-old student at Northwest College in Powell, Wyo., died at a Holiday Inn in northeast Denver in March 2014. Officials say his friends tried to calm him down before his fatal four-story leap.
The city’s coroners listed “marijuana intoxication” from cannabis-infused cookies as a significant condition contributing to Thamba’s death.
His death was classified as an accident.
Thamba’s death raised widespread questions and fueled the debate about the dangers of marijuana edibles.
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“Although the decedent in this case was advised against eating multiple servings at one time,” the CDC article says, “he reportedly consumed all five of the remaining servings of the THC-infused cookie within 30-60 minutes after the first serving.”
The article says the cookies were purchased by Thamba’s 23-year-old friend.
Recreational marijuana is legal for those over 21 years old in Colorado.
“According to the police report, the decedent had been marijuana-naïve, with no known history of alcohol abuse, illicit drug use, or mental illness,” the CDC report says.
According to the CDC, some studies have suggested an association between cannabis and psychological disturbances.
“Regulation of recreational marijuana edibles in Colorado continues to evolve,” the report says.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
