Did Marijuana Edibles Make a Man Kill His Wife?

According to authorities in Colorado, on the night of April 14, 2014, Richard Kirk took his pistol from his safe and shot his wife Kristine, instantly killing her. Sadly, domestic violence resulting in murder is nothing new, but the claims arising out of this case are unusual.

Earlier on the night he allegedly killed his wife, Richard Kirk supposedly ate part of a Tootsie-roll-like cannabis edible. This led, again allegedly, to very erratic behavior and hallucinations on his part, behavior that culminated in the murder of Kristine Kirk.

A lawsuit has now been filed on behalf of the Kirk children; the suit claims that the makers of the cannabis edible were negligent in terms of proper warning labels. “The packaging and labeling for the potent candy contained no directions, instructions or recommendations respecting the product’s proper consumption or use,” said the lawsuit filed in May in Denver District Court. “The edible producers negligently, recklessly and purposefully concealed vital dosage and labeling information from their actual and prospective purchasers including Kirk in order to make a profit.”

The retail shop where Richard Kirk bought the edible is named in the lawsuit as well, but they say that Richard was indeed warned about the potency of the edible. Add to this the fact that the amount of THC in Richard’s blood was half the legal limit for so-called “stoned” driving in Colorado, and one begins to wonder just how much THC he ingested and how that could possibly lead to him hallucinating enough to kill his wife.

The case is a long shot for all of the reasons I lay out in the video below. Imagine a legal precedent of “I was high so I wasn’t responsible for the crime I just committed” being set. That would certainly throw a wrench in the works of the marijuana legalization movement and change the course of all future legalization bills and ballot measures.