The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned marijuana users of the potential danger of marijuana-infused edibles. The center took the incident last March involving a 19-year-old man named Levy Thamba Pongi, who jumped from the fourth-floor balcony of a Denver hotel after over-consuming a marijuana bar as an opportunity to warn individuals that marijuana edibles could pose harm if consumed too much.
Pongi, a native of Congo, and his college friends were believed to be in Denver for marijuana tourism. In Colorado, anyone 21 years old and above, is allowed to purchase marijuana, which comes in various edible forms, from cookies and brownies to candies. Ideally, one-sixth of the cookie should be eaten at a time, but Pongi consumed the entire cookie and turned psychoactive after 30 minutes. He then manifested erratic behavior, leaping out from his bed, running out of the hotel room before he jumped to his death. His death from "multiple injuries due to a fall from height" was admitted by the coroner as a result of marijuana intoxication. The autopsy report revealed that Pongi's body contained 7.2 nanograms of active THC per milliliter of blood. At 5 nanograms per milliliter, an individual is already considered messed up.
Aside from Colorado, the CDC identified Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state and the District of Columbia as the states were recreational marijuana is legal. However, the agency urged for the creation of a set of guidelines and labels that would ensure the safety of consumers of marijuana edibles. Likewise, the need to label and classify the products is to ensure the safety of children who may be attracted to the edibles that contain marijuana and end up accidentally consuming them.
Marijuana comes next only after alcohol as the second most popular recreational drug, with almost 20 million consumers a month.
