Mom Found Son Dead in Room. She's Blaming Pot

But the medical examiner isn't convinced
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 18, 2017 4:44 PM CDT
Mom Claims Marijuana Killed Her Son
   (Getty Images/DaveLongMedia)

Kristina Ziobro went into her son Michael's room to say goodnight to him and found him unconscious on the floor. Now, the New Jersey mom is blaming her 22-year-old son's death on the medical marijuana that was found in his closet. She tells Today she believes the pot caused Michael's heart to go into arrhythmia and stop beating. The medical examiner says there's no proof cannabis was involved in Michael's death—and little evidence of cannabis' effect on the heart in general. He suggests Ziobro look into a hereditary cause for Michael's fatal arrhythmia.

But Ziobro is convinced. She says Michael was a marijuana "advocate" and used medical pot to treat painful irritable bowel syndrome. "He thought it was wonderful," she says. "He thought it was safe ... and it ended up killing him.” A study published this week showed people who used marijuana were three times more likely to die from high blood pressure. But the study relied on surveys of people who may have only used marijuana once, and a lot more data is needed before conclusions can be drawn. But with marijuana legalization gaining steam, Ziobro wants to get the word out about her son's death. “I just think people are glossing over everything that’s going on with marijuana,” she says. Read the full story here. (More marijuana stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X