A Wyoming college student visiting Denver on spring break jumped to his death after eating a marijuana cookie that his friend legally purchased in one of Colorado's recreational pot shops, authorities said Wednesday, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
An autopsy report lists marijuana intoxication as a "significant contributing factor" in the death of 19-year-old Levy Thamba Pongi, a native of the Republic of Congo who fell from a motel balcony on March 11, The Tribune reported.
It marked the first time the Denver medical examiner's office has listed a marijuana edible as a contributor to a death, said Michelle Weiss-Samaras, a spokeswoman for the office, according to The Tribune.
Investigators believe Pongi and his friends came to Colorado to try marijuana, Weiss-Samaras said, The Tribune reported.
The friends told investigators that Pongi ate the cookie and "exhibited hostile behavior" that included pulling things off walls and speaking erratically, the autopsy report said, according to The Tribune.
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 Tribune reported.
Denver police ruled the death an accident but said their investigation remains open, according to The Tribune.
Colorado law bans the sale of recreational marijuana products to people under 21, The Tribune reported. It is also illegal for those under 21 to possess marijuana, and adults can be charged with a felony for giving it to someone under the legal age.
Authorities said one of Pongi's friends was old enough to buy the cookie from a pot shop but it was unclear whether the friend might face charges, according to The Tribune.
The medical examiner's office had Pongi's body tested for at least 250 different substances, including bath salts and synthetic marijuana, which are known to cause strange behavior, The Tribune reported. His blood tested positive only for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, according to the report.
One of Pongi's friends also tried the cookie but stopped after feeling sick, Weiss-Samaras said, according to The Tribune.
The marijuana concentration in Pongi's blood was 7.2 nanograms of active THC per milliliter of blood, The Tribune reported. Colorado law says juries can assume someone is driving while impaired by marijuana if their blood contains more than 5 nanograms per milliliter of the chemical.
Officials at Northwest College in Powell, Wyo., say Pongi started taking classes as an exchange student in January and was studying engineering, according to The Tribune.
"The Northwest College campus community continues to grieve after Levy's death," the college said in a statement. "All of us were deeply saddened by this tragic incident and feel for his family."
