The following article was posted from USA TODAY.
KEYSTONE, Colo. — An Oklahoma man shot himself while on a ski vacation with his family, which blames his death on an overdose of marijuana-infused candy.
Luke Gregory Goodman, 22, of Tulsa, Okla., died Tuesday after two days on life support, officials said. Goodman ate the marijuana candies Saturday afternoon then shot himself about 10 p.m. MT, officials said.
An autopsy has not yet been completed, but the Summit County Coroner’s Office said his death was “consistent with a suicide.”
Toxicology reports are pending in Goodman’s death. Goodman’s family said he bought the legal edibles at a nearby marijuana store in this town about 60 miles west of Denver and ate five pieces, the equivalent of five doses.
“It was completely a reaction to the drugs,” his mother, Kim Goodman, told KCNC-TV, Denver. “It was completely out of character for Luke. … There was no depression or anything that would leave us being concerned, nothing like that.”
If officials confirm marijuana intoxication played a role in Goodman’s death, it would be the second suicide connected with edibles in Colorado since the state legalized sales Jan. 1, 2014. In March 2014, a Wyoming college student ate significantly more than the recommended dose of a marijuana cookie then leapt to his death from a hotel balcony.
In April, a Denver man is accused of shooting and killing his wife after eating marijuana candy. Earlier this month, Richard Kirk, 48, pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder; his trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 26.
Colorado lawmakers and regulators are considering whether to tighten the state’s labeling and dosage requirements for edibles, which have become a popular alternative to smoking marijuana.
Contributing: Blair Shiff, KUSA-TV, Denver
