A blue balloon hangs from a railing on the porch of a home belonging to a family of four in Tampa, Florida March 8, 2014. A pregnant woman and her family were hospitalized after eating steak bought from a Wal-Mart that local authorities believed was laced with the hallucinogenic drug LSD, according to the medical examiner’s initial test results. REUTERS/Ken Knight
A family of four in Florida, including a pregnant mom and two young kids, were hospitalized after consuming a dinner of LSD-laced steak. First, 24-year-old dad Ronnie Morales complained of heart palpitations and dizziness sick after eating dinner. His 31-year-old girlfriend Jessica Rosado drove him to a nearby hospital, but she too soon fell ill. She was 9 months pregnant, and doctors performed an emergency delivery of her baby, who is alive and healthy. Her daughters, ages 7 and 6, also became sick that night. The entire family reportedly began hallucinating, and each member had to be intubated. It sounds like they all consumed very high doses. From WLTX Tampa:
It wasn’t clear what caused the mysterious illness until Friday, when officials say they received test results from the medical examiner that pointed to LSD as the meat’s contaminant.
Tampa Police are now investigating how LSD could have been in the meat, but Chief Castor did said they know the family is not at fault.
The family had just recently moved into their home. One of the most puzzling aspects of the investigation, from a science perspective: how was the meat dosed, and at what quantity, so that the LSD persisted even after being cooked at a high temperature? More at Reuters.
The adults have no criminal history, and surveillance footage at the Wal-Mart where the meat was purchased has revealed no useful evidence so far.
All meat of the type the family purchased was removed from store shelves.