New case of meth-spiked soda reported in Mexicali

Bottles of a popular soft drink in Mexico have been taken off the shelf in Mexicali, Baja Calif., following a teenager’s poisoning from a beverage contaminated with methamphetamine.

The incident followed cases reported in September of beverages being laced in methamphetamine in Mexicali.

The 16-year-old girl was hospitalized Dec. 7 after complaining of a bitter after-taste and a sensation of heat in her mouth. She was later declared out of danger, although a urine sample showed traces of methamphetamine in her system, according to public health officials in the border city south of Calexico, Calif.

The latest incident prompted the removal of more than 8,000 bottles of Manzanita Sol from store shelves in Mexicali.

Sodas from the same lot as the contaminated drink have been turned over for testing as part of an effort to determine the source of the methamphetamine, according to state health officials.

Leopoldo Jimenez, director of health risk prevention for the Baja California Health Department, said test results will be turned over to the federal prosecutor’s office in Mexicali.

In September, a 33-yearold man died in Ejido Nuevo Leon, a small farming community south of Mexicali, after consuming a bottle of 7-Up later determined to be contaminated with methamphetamine.

Nine other people in the same area who had consumed the same brand of soda were treated for symptoms later linked to methamphetamine.