Drugged toddler rushed to Tijuana hospital

For the third time in six weeks, a child has been rushed to a Tijuana hospital suffering from a drug overdose, El Sol de Tijuana reported on May 6.

The one-year-old boy was taken by ambulance to the Red Cross trauma center, where physicians noted he was suffering from breathing difficulties and tachycardia, according to the newspaper’s account. A urine sample later revealed the child tested positive for methamphetamines.

The youngster was admitted to the Red Cross hospital, where he will remain until he has fully recovered, El Sol reported. Afterward, the boy will be turned over to child-welfare authorities to ensure his safety.

The boy’s mother, identified by El Sol as 36-year-old Dora Isabela Medina Olivas, was detained by police on charges of child neglect and turned over to state prosecutors for processing.

Just 28 days earlier, another one-year-old boy arrived at the Red Cross emergency room under the influence of “a psychotropic pill,” El Sol reported.

The child’s mother, identified as Cristóbal Durazno, allegedly gave her son the pill thinking it would make him go to sleep, according to an eyewitness, El Sol reported. Durazno was arrested on charges of child neglect.

In the third case, a baby suffered drug intoxication after breastfeeding from his drug-using mother, according to El Sol. The child required hospitalization and the mother was charged with child neglect.

Child-protection authorities in Tijuana have reported an alarming increase in the number of abandoned children or children who have been removed from their homes as a consequence of drug-using parents, according to El Sol.