BEIRUT: An official statement announcing a ban on the sale of “liquide cocaine” sparked ridicule Friday, but caretaker Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud clarified that the measure applied to an American caffeine energy drink and not an alcoholic shot of the same name. The statement, which was published on the National News Agency, calls for bars, restaurants and “touristic institutions” to cease the sale and promotion of a beverage it called “liquide cocaine.”

Many Lebanese interpreted this as a ban on a popular shot made by mixing the German digestif Jagermeister and various other alcohols. The story went viral online, where many commenters accused the government of indulging in petty moralizing at a time of national crisis. Others merely assumed officials had mistakenly banned the beverage thinking it contained actual cocaine. [Link]