An article saying that the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) found “thousands of Coors Light beers laced with cocaine” is nothing more than a hoax.
The article was posted on Huzlers.com, a “satirical” website.
The bogus piece reads: “U.S. - It has been reported by the FDA that cocaine has been found in Thousands of Coors Light beers nationwide. The FDA began investigating beers before they were sent out from the factories, as well as beers that were already on shelves ready for sale in thousands of businesses across the U.S. The FDA became suspicious of Coors Light being laced with a certain drug after thousands of people reported feeling ‘weird’, ‘high’ and even sick after drinking Coors Light.”
It adds: “The FDA is currently investigating how the cocaine managed to get into Coors Light factories and if it was intentional by the company or an accident. ‘We cannot afford to have more people accidently drink cocaine from a brewery such as Coors Light, which has been a longtime favorite here in the U.S., this is unacceptable’' says FDA employee Arnold Francis.”
But according to a disclaimer on the bottom-right of every page on the website, Huzlers isn’t real.
“Huzlers.com is a combination of real shocking news and satirical entertainment to keep its visitors in a state of disbelief,” the disclaimer reads.
The article was being shared by the thousands on Facebook and Twitter.
As some social media comments indicate, some people apparently believed the bogus article. “Looks like I'll be switching from Miller Lite temporarily!” one person said.
AP update: Officials: Coca plant discovery a 1st for Mexico
TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico (AP) — The seizure of 1,639 coca plants in southern Mexico marks the first known instance of the raw ingredient for cocaine being cultivated in the country, Mexican and U.N. officials said Wednesday.
Mexico is home to various drug cartels that traffic large quantities of cocaine toward the United States, but coca itself is typically grown in the Andean region. The find raised concerns that it could be a test of the viability of reducing dependence on South American suppliers.
“It’s a pretty troubling discovery,” said Antonio Mazzitelli, the Mexico representative of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. He added that it could amount to “a small-scale experiment to see if there’s a possibility of replicating” coca cultivation in Mexico.
Both he and Mexican Gen. Sergio Martinez, commander of the 36th military zone in the southern state of Chiapas, confirmed that the coca plantation is a first for Mexico. Previously, Mazzitelli said, only labs that processed coca into cocaine had been found in the country.
Soldiers and agents discovered the plants in the town of Tuxtla Chico near the border between Guatemala and Chiapas, a mountainous state known for its coffee plantations.
An agent at the Mexican Attorney General’s Office, who was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the find came due to an anonymous phone tip and interrogation of three suspects who were detained with about 400 pounds (180 kilograms) of coca leaf in the southern city of Tapachula.
Although native to the Andes, where it can be found from Panama to Argentina, the coca bush is very resilient and can survive anywhere climatic conditions are right.
“It grows well anywhere, say, tea can grow,” said Paul Gootenberg, the author of “Andean Cocaine” and a Latin America historian at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
