Fla. man claims tea caused him to fail drug test

[June 28, 2008]  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A spot of tea landed a South Florida man in a spot of trouble with state prosecutors. Jerome Klein is now free while he awaits trial on a burglary charge. Authorities jailed him in April for violating bond after failing a drug test.

Prosecutors didn't believe Klein's claim that a Bolivian herbal tea his mother served him had caused him to test positive for using cocaine.

The tea, called Mate de Coca, is made from the coca plant.

Klein has no criminal history aside from the burglary allegations and has never been arrested on drug charges. Circuit Judge John Murphy III freed Klein from the Broward County jail Friday.

Klein's mother says she gave her 50-year-old son the tea because he wasn't feeling well. She says she won't use the tea anymore.

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Information from: The Miami Herald, http://www.herald.com

[Associated Press]

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