Hamza Warsame (1999 – 2015)

Hamza Warsame was the middle of five children, the son of Somalian refugee immigrants and a straight A student.  When he fell six floors to his death on December 5, 2015 in Seattle, his family was shocked. 
His older sister, Ikram, said he was the one who always checked to see that other family members were okay.  He had nearly memorized the Koran, and he had dreams of going to MIT.  There was every reason to believe he would fulfill those dreams.

The Seattle Police Department announced on May 10, 2016 that the death of Warsame was the result of a fall that followed his first use of marijuana.  

As an advanced high school student taking college classes at Seattle Central College, when he left home around 2:40 p.m. on December 5, his family reminded Hamza to come home safely.  However, he never made it home, which aroused much suspicion about what had happened. An older friend and classmate had invited him to his apartment to work on a school project.

Hamza’s death sent shock waves through Seattle’s black and Muslim communities. 
Social media was abuzz with suggestions of a hate crime.  The older student was a “white guy,” who
didn’t speak to the police immediately. Injuries weren’t consistent with an altercation of any sort, but when the investigation was completed, news came out that Warsame had smoked marijuana for the first time.  The toxicology screen found “relatively high levels” of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),
the psychoactive element of marijuana, in Warsame’s system.

There were no suggestions that he tried to kill himself, but the friend said he had become “frantic.”  He panicked. There was a theory that he tried to jump to the next building’s roof.  Notice it was not edibles he tried, but the high-potency cannabis flower sold in pot shops shortly after Washington legalized marijuana.  He died of an unintentional fall.  No one was charged with a crime.

It wasn’t legal for a 16-year-old to buy or smoke marijuana, but Washington is a marijuana state, and his 21-year-old classmate had bought it legitimately at a dispensary.  When states legalize marijuana, of course older friends will share it with younger friends, and those younger friends think it’s safe.