The sons of a woman shot to death in 2014 have filed what appears to be the country's first wrongful death lawsuit against the recreational marijuana industry.
The lawsuit claims Gaia's Garden LLC, the company that made the marijuana edible, and Nutritional Elements Inc., the store that sold the candy to Richard Kirk, recklessly and purposefully failed to warn him about the bite-sized candy's potency and side effects — including hallucinations and other psychotic behaviors.
Hours after Kirk purchased the marijuana candy on April 14, 2014, Kristine Kirk, 44, called 911 terrified of her husband who was ranting about the end of the world and jumping in and out of windows. All three of the couple's young sons heard the gunshot that killed their mother.
Their youngest son, who was 7 years old at the time, watched his mother die, according to an amended complaint that was filed on Monday night.
"Two Springs ago an epic tragedy occurred. In a flash of a moment, three young boys all under the age of 12 lost their parents. While nothing can bring their parents back, this lawsuit will seek justice and change in an edible industry that is growing so fast it failed these young kids," the family's attorneys, David Olivas and Greg Gold, said in a statement. "Edibles themselves are not the evil, it is the failure to warn, the failure to properly dose, the failure to tell the consumer how to safely use edibles, that is evil. And this lawsuit will force change and hopefully get these kids a little justice for being victimized by the rush to profit at the expense of safety."
The lawsuit says the makers of the Karma Kandy Orange Ginger edible failed to provide even the most basic warnings including side-effects, basic dosage directions and information about how it's metabolized. The lawsuit says harmless products like toothpaste, chewing gum, lotion and even dog treats contain instructions and warnings.
"It's a definite uphill battle," said Denver marijuana attorney, Rob Corry, who's not involved the lawsuit.
Corry said he thinks the plaintiffs will have a hard time proving their case. He said they have to prove the marijuana was the proximate legal cause of the tragedy.
"This is just like suing Coors over a drunk driving death. Obviously that's a tragedy, but Coors or any other alcohol manufacturer does not bare legal responsibility for voluntary decisions of people to take their particular product," Corry said.
In January of 2015, following several high-profile marijuana cases, new packaging, potency and labeling regulations went into effect for recreational edibles in Colorado. Now, edibles must be sold in child resistant packaging, wrapped individually or segmented into serving sizes of 10 milligrams or less of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The labels also warn users that it can take up to two hours to feel the effects of the drug.
"It's changed a ton," said Adam Brous of GroundSwell Cannabis Boutique in Denver. Employees at the dispensary are careful to educate consumers about how much of an edible they should eat and the amount of time they should wait for it to kick in.
"In terms of keeping it away from children, keeping it off the streets and making sure it's safe for people to consume, I think the industry has done a good job putting in certain regulations, but I think there's still a long way to go," Brous said.
Statement from attorneys David Olivas and Greg Gold:
" Two Springs ago an epic tragedy occurred. In a flash of a moment three young boys all under the age of 12 lost their parents. While nothing can bring their parents back, this lawsuit will seek justice and change in an edible industry that is growing so fast it failed these young kids. Edibles themselves are not the evil, it is the failure to warn, the failure to properly dose, the failure to tell the consumer how to safely use edibles, that is the evil. And this lawsuit will force change and hopefully get these kids a little justice for being victimized by the rush to profit at the expense of safety."