In the wake of Colorado’s new rules regarding marijuana use, expect more news that connect student injury and death to “marijuana intoxication”.

The Denver coroner says an exchange student from Wyoming fell to his death after eating a marijuana cookie, the first reported death linked to marijuana since the drug became legal for recreational use in Colorado in January.

Nineteen-year-old Levy Thamba died after falling from the balcony of a Denver hotel on March 11. An autopsy report released Wednesday says he died from the fall but also lists “marijuana intoxication” as a contributing factor in his death.

Officials at Northwest College in Powell, Wyo., say Thamba, a native of the Republic of Congo, started taking classes there as an exchange student in January.

The Powell Tribune offers more details on the student:

Police have not released the findings of their investigation.

An international student attending Northwest College died early Tuesday morning when he fell off a balcony at a Denver hotel.

Levy Thamba, of the Republic of Congo, Africa, began attending Northwest in late January. He apparently traveled to Denver during the college’s spring break.

…Emelee Volden, NWC intercultural program manager, said Thamba arrived a few weeks after the semester started.

“He got stuck in that last big snowstorm back East, and his flight was delayed for several days,” Volden said.

Despite his late arrival, “it was very apparent that he was a stellar student,” Volden said.

Thamba was studying engineering and was taking advanced math.

Although at Northwest for less than a month and a half, Thamba made friends and was very active with the NWC multicultural club and events.

“His social life showed that he was a very nice person,” she said. “He made a lot of friends in a short amount of time.”

Thamba came to rural Powell from Kinshasa, a city of 9 million people and the third largest urban area in Africa.

Thamba wrote an essay to qualify for an international scholarship program. In his essay, Volden said, he spoke of his brother’s encouragement for him to fulfill his dream.