The first reported death in Colorado linked to marijuana edibles happened when an exchange student from the Democratic Republic of Congo jumped off a building some hours after consuming a marijuana cookie.
Levy Thamba Pongi was not known to have any history of mental illness or depression and he apparently had not used alcohol, drugs, marijuana or any similar substance before. His autopsy revealed marijuana intoxication . His death is unusual since no one has ever died of a marijuana overdose – there may have been unknown factors involved in Levy’s death. However, it does highlight that consuming marijuana if you are not used to it, or have not built up a tolerance to it can be both scary and dangerous.
The problem with marijuana edibles is that they look so appealing and don’t seem to have any effect initially. It’s easy to overdo it on edibles, especially if you have no idea how potent your brownies or candies are. Children can easily eat marijuana edibles by mistake.
To keep it safe, think about the following guidelines:
Eat only one low dose edible and wait at least two hours to gauge the effect. Start with a dose of no more than 10 milligrams of THC, especially if you’ve never eaten marijuana edibles before.
Don’t mix edibles with alcohol. A glass or two of wine might along with your edible may seem like a good idea, but alcohol can magnify the effects of a pot cookie and may cause dizziness and nausea.
Don’t drive or operate any sort of machinery after ingesting marijuana.
Don’t consume on an empty stomach. Eat a good, healthy meal beforehand – incorporate superfoods if you can.
Keep some CBD capsules on hand. CBD is the non-psychoactive compound of marijuana and it is a good antidote to too much THC.
Don’t panic if you’ve over-indulged. Sleep it off somewhere quiet. No-one has ever died from a marijuana ovedose.
Keep edibles out of reach of children and unsuspecting house-guests. It’s irresponsible to leave edibles lying around where anyone can have access to them.
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