CONGOLESE STUDENT FALLS TO HIS DEATH AFTER EATING MARIJUANA

A young man who could not handle
weed died on March 11th after
plunging from a motel balcony in
Colorado.
According to Denver Mmedical
examiner, 19 year old exchange
student from Republic of Congo, Levi
Thamba Pongi (pictured above)
jumped to his death after eating a
marijuana cookie that his friend
legally purchased in one of
Colorado’s recreational pot shops,
marking the first time since
recreational marijuana was legalized
in the state that eating pot was listed
as a “contributing factor” is
someone’s death.
His friends told investigators that
Pongi ate the cookie and “exhibited
hostile behavior” that included
pulling things off walls and speaking
erratically. Attempts by the three
friends to calm Pongi seemed to
work until he went outside and
jumped over the balcony railing,
according to the report.
The late teen had been visiting
Colorado with friends while on Spring
Break in March. Investigators believe
that Levi and his companions made
the trip to Colorado specifically to
sample the state’s legally available
marijuana, including pot cookies.
From Inquisitr.com
But the trip ended with
Levi Thamba plunging
off a Holiday Inn
balcony after
experiencing a bad
reaction to consuming
a pot cookie,
authorities say.
At age 19, Thamba is
actually not able to
purchase a pot cookie
or any other form of
legal marijuana in
Colorado where, as
with alcohol, the
minimum age is 21. It
is also illegal from a
person over 21 to buy
recreational pot and
give it to an underage
person.
Police said that one of
the members of
Thamba’s group was
over 21 and therefore
could buy pot, but
assuming that person
gave the pot cookie to
the now-deceased 19-
year-old, he may now
face felony charges.
Authorities had not
decided yet.
The four friends were
staying at a Holiday
Inn in northeast
Denver when Thamba
ate the pot cookie that
he legally was not
supposed to be able to
possess. Then
something strange
happened. According
to what his friends
told investigators, he
started going crazy.
Thamba began pulling
objects off the wall of
the Holdiay Inn room
and acting very
aggressively. His
speech became
“erratic.” His friends
tried to get control of
him and thought they
had succeeded in
calming him down. But
before they knew it,
Thamba bolted out of
bed and on to the
balcony. And then he
jumped over the edge.
Was it a bad pot
cookie that caused the
bizarre and ultimately
fatal reaction?
According to the
medical examiner, one
of Thamba’s
companions also ate
some of the cookie bit
began feeling ill, so he
stopped.
Thamba’s blood tested
positive for 7.2
nanograms of HC, the
active ingredient in
pot, per milliliter. The
legal limit for driving
in Colorado is five
nanograms. Thamba
tested negative for
alcohol and for a list
of 250 other drugs and
substances.
“We have no history of
any other issues until
he eats a marijuana
cookie and becomes
erratic and this
happens,” said
Michelle Weiss-
Samaras of the
medical examiner’s
office. “It’s the one
thing we have that’s
significant.”
Before coming to
Colorado and eating
the ill-fated pot
cookie, Thamba had
studied for just a few
months at the
Wyoming college of
about 2,000 students,
not far from
Yellowstone National
Park.