LSD, or Lysergic acid diethylamide, is a dangerous drug when intentionally taken with a reasonable dose. Without either of those controls, it feels like hallucinogenic food poisoning.
A family of four experienced that effect on Monday after eating steak (purchased from Walmart) laced with the drug. Complicating matters was the pregnancy of the mother, Tampabay.com reported.
Fortunately, Jessica Rosado, 31, was already nine months into her term and wasn't the first to feel sick. Her boyfriend, 24 year-old Ronnie Morales, experienced the debilitating effects of the drug first, at which point Rosado drove him and her six and seven year old daughters, who hadn't yet experienced symptoms, to the hospital.
Soon, the drug kicked in for her and her daughters. The young girls were admitted to the same hospital as Morales while Rosado was transferred to a nearby women's hospital. There, she was induced into labor, giving birth to a healthy baby boy. The hospital released her on Thursday, according to the New York Daily News.
Rosado's daughters were also released, but not before they underwent tracheal intubation, a process by which a tube is inserted into the patient's pathway to administer particular drugs. For treatment related to drug consumption, it was unusual, but then so was the case.
"I'm not sure that I've ever seen or heard of anyone who has consumed LSD that had to be intubated," Tampa police Chief Jane Castor said at a news conference in Tampa Bay, Florida, where the incident took place and the family lives.
Walmart confirmed LSD was in the meat.
"Initial test results received today from the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office determined the family consumed bottom round steak contaminated with LSD," company said Friday in a release.
Likely, the drug was inserted into the meat before it was purchased by Morales and Rosado, though police haven't made any definitive conclusions.
"The family has no idea where this may have come from and there's no indication of any involvement on the part of the family," Castor said.
So far, however, Walmart hasn't identified any other meat laced with the drug.
"We know our customers expect safe, quality food and we require our suppliers to meet the highest of food safety standards. It's unclear where and how the food was tampered with or if the tampering occurred after purchase. However, out of an abundance of caution, we have pulled the remaining product from the store," the company's statement continued.