6 ms·

I dunno 'bout that: "Was Cocaine once an ingredient in Coca-cola? No, there’s never been any cocaine added in Coca‑Cola and there never will be." https://www

I dunno 'bout that: "Was Cocaine once an ingredient in Coca-cola? No, there’s never been any cocaine added in Coca‑Cola and there never will be." https://www.coca-cola.com/mv/en/about-us/faq/was-cocaine-once-an-ingredient-in-coca-cola https://www.coca-cola.com/mv/en/about-us/faq/was-cocaine-onc... Is someone suggesting they would obfuscate their sacred history?

layer8 2y ago
From TFA: “That same year [1901], Candler called for a change to the Coca-Cola formula, replacing cocaine with heavier doses of sugar and caffeine—and started denying that the soda had ever contained cocaine to begin with.”
yieldcrv 2y ago
Yes, the article. > That same year, Candler called for a change to the Coca-Cola formula, replacing cocaine with heavier doses of sugar and caffeine—and started denying that the soda had ever contained cocaine to begin with.
- account42 2y ago
  I wonder what's the total effect of this drug policy on obesity rates.
margalabargala 2y ago
Cocaine was never a coca-cola ingredient. The intro to the article exaggerates for narrative effect. Coca leaf was, and still is, an ingredient in coca-cola. So both cocaine and coca-cola are made with coca leaf, but coca-cola is not and never has been made with cocaine.
- wildzzz 2y ago
  It depends on how you define an "ingredient" and "made with". Was pure cocaine added to the original Coca-Cola during manufacturing? No. Was cocaine one of the naturally occurring substances in coca leaf extract that was put in Coke? Yes. The FDA considers caffeine an ingredient in things like soda and energy drinks because it's dosed and added to the beverage. But the FDA doesn't consider the naturally occurring caffeine in coffee beans as an ingredient in something like coffee beans or a canned cold brew. A manufacturer might list caffeine content to help consumers but they aren't required to do so. Is gluten an ingredient in flour? Not to the FDA but it's still in there. Is sugar an ingredient in fresh squeezed orange juice? No but it's still in there.
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  That's kind of like saying edibles don't have weed in them. While technically correct, it's dishonest.
  - margalabargala 2y ago
    Disagree, it's like saying that jet fuel doesn't have plastic in it. They're both made from crude oil but they are totally different and do not contain one another. No one claims cocaine contains coca-cola.
    - sdwr 2y ago
      Cocaine is present in coca leaf. Coca-Cola is not present in coca leaf. Coca-Cola contained coca leaf contains cocaine (in small amounts?) Cocaine is made from coca leaf (which does not contain Coca-Cola)
      - TimK65 2y ago
        Coca-Cola is still made with coca leaf, but today, it's decocainized. (And since it's impossible to remove 100% of the cocaine molecules from the coca leaf, Coca-Cola still contains extremely tiny trace amounts of cocaine.)
    - radlad 2y ago
      > The coca leaf itself includes the active cocaine alkaloid which may be released through chewing or consumed in a powder-like form. From Wikipedia
      - margalabargala 2y ago
        Interesting. I learned something new today :) thank you!
  - bawolff 2y ago
    I think a better comparison is marketing orange juice as sugar free (because no sugar was added)
- userbinator 2y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca#Commercial_and_industrial_uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca#Commercial_and_industrial... Before the criminalization of cocaine, however, the extract was not decocainized So they are right that cocaine was not intentionally added.
  - metadat 2y ago
    It's correct to say the processed powdery form of cocaine was never added. But actually cocaine was intentionally added, as a byproduct of adding Coca. More complete excerpt: > Before the criminalization of cocaine, however, the extract was not decocainized, and hence Coca-Cola's original formula did indeed include cocaine. You can still get a buzz off chewing raw coca leaf, but it's not in the same ballpark as doing a line in NYC, SV, or Miami. I recall from Drugs Inc, it's more like a caffeine effect when consumed this way.
    - aeonik 2y ago
      Honestly sounds kinda nice. Sometimes, C caffeine lasts too long.
- throwup238 2y ago
  The only official DEA source I can find for the fact that coca leaf extract is still used to make Coca Cola is the museum page on coca: https://museum.dea.gov/exhibits/online-exhibits/cannabis-coca-and-poppy-natures-addictive-plants/coca https://museum.dea.gov/exhibits/online-exhibits/cannabis-coc... The funny thing is that the slideshow at the bottom of the page gives anyone with even a limited knowledge of alkali extraction (like DMT acid-base) everything they need to know about extracting cocaine.
  - margalabargala 2y ago
    There's also a NY Times article (from 1988) discussing it. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/01/business/how-coca-cola-obtains-its-coca.html https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/01/business/how-coca-cola-ob...
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
- Maxatar 2y ago
  Every other source I find other than Coke's official website says otherwise, including pretty authoritative sources including the U.S. government: https://www.justthinktwice.gov/article/did-coca-cola-ever-contain-cocaine https://www.justthinktwice.gov/article/did-coca-cola-ever-co...
- ruined 2y ago
  >Cocaine was never a coca-cola ingredient. yeah the same way thc is not an ingredient in your roommate's special brownies
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
evandev 2y ago
Technically there was never cocaine in coca-cola. It was the coca leaf that was added which is the raw material used to make cocaine.
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  "cocaine" is just concentrated coca leaf. There's no chemical transformation happening. It's a purification process, like mint or vanilla extract.
kragen 2y ago
coca-cola's statement is technically true but intentionally misleading, and a lot of people are commenting based on the misconception that coca leaf doesn't contain cocaine coca leaf does contain cocaine; cocaine is not a molecule synthesized from something in the coca leaf in the way that methamphetamine is synthesized from natural pseudoephedrine. the coca leaf contains cocaine in doses significant enough to be psychoactive, which is why people 'chew' it and make tea from it. when people make refined cocaine from coca leaf, they're just concentrating the cocaine already present, not chemically changing it, except that they may change it between the free base alkakoid form and a salt with some anion like chloride coca-cola, like several other drinks of the era such as vin mariani, contained an extract of coca leaf containing a therapeutically significant dose of cocaine. it is true that it did not contain cocaine as an ingredient, but saying that and then not explaining that it did contain cocaine is lying by omission. in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41135533 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41135533 bawolff gives the excellent analogy of saying that sugar is not an ingredient in orange juice: true, but the majority of the non-water content of orange juice is still sugar
- wildzzz 2y ago
  It's like a fruit juice saying "no added sugar". They don't add any sugar to the juice but it's definitely not sugar-free. Same with old coke, they never added cocaine but it wasn't cocaine-free.
  - kragen 2y ago
    yeah! you know what, it's almost like saying that sugar isn't an ingredient in apple juice
account42 2y ago
Surely a corporation would never lie to us.
wbshaw 2y ago
Every time I've taken the tour at the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta, the question has come up and they consistently deny it. I think next time I'll ask the question as whether or not Coco leaves were included in the original formula. I'll bet I get the wrong answer.
- gorlilla 2y ago
  "Is it true that prior to aggressive anti-drug legislation, the cocoa leaf extract that was used in coca-cola was not specifically de-cocainized thereby causing coca-cola to possibly contain quantities of cocaine that were possibly significant to the consumer?" Idk, just lawyer proof the question as much as possible..
  - shermantanktop 2y ago
    Sure, grill the highschooler reciting the company line—that’s the way to be the most popular person in the tour group.

layer8 2y ago

From TFA: “That same year [1901], Candler called for a change to the Coca-Cola formula, replacing cocaine with heavier doses of sugar and caffeine—and started denying that the soda had ever contained cocaine to begin with.”

yieldcrv 2y ago

Yes, the article. > That same year, Candler called for a change to the Coca-Cola formula, replacing cocaine with heavier doses of sugar and caffeine—and started denying that the soda had ever contained cocaine to begin with.

account42 2y ago
I wonder what's the total effect of this drug policy on obesity rates.

margalabargala 2y ago

Cocaine was never a coca-cola ingredient. The intro to the article exaggerates for narrative effect. Coca leaf was, and still is, an ingredient in coca-cola. So both cocaine and coca-cola are made with coca leaf, but coca-cola is not and never has been made with cocaine.

wildzzz 2y ago
It depends on how you define an "ingredient" and "made with". Was pure cocaine added to the original Coca-Cola during manufacturing? No. Was cocaine one of the naturally occurring substances in coca leaf extract that was put in Coke? Yes. The FDA considers caffeine an ingredient in things like soda and energy drinks because it's dosed and added to the beverage. But the FDA doesn't consider the naturally occurring caffeine in coffee beans as an ingredient in something like coffee beans or a canned cold brew. A manufacturer might list caffeine content to help consumers but they aren't required to do so. Is gluten an ingredient in flour? Not to the FDA but it's still in there. Is sugar an ingredient in fresh squeezed orange juice? No but it's still in there.
bongodongobob 2y ago
That's kind of like saying edibles don't have weed in them. While technically correct, it's dishonest.
- margalabargala 2y ago
  Disagree, it's like saying that jet fuel doesn't have plastic in it. They're both made from crude oil but they are totally different and do not contain one another. No one claims cocaine contains coca-cola.
  - sdwr 2y ago
    Cocaine is present in coca leaf. Coca-Cola is not present in coca leaf. Coca-Cola contained coca leaf contains cocaine (in small amounts?) Cocaine is made from coca leaf (which does not contain Coca-Cola)
    - TimK65 2y ago
      Coca-Cola is still made with coca leaf, but today, it's decocainized. (And since it's impossible to remove 100% of the cocaine molecules from the coca leaf, Coca-Cola still contains extremely tiny trace amounts of cocaine.)
  - radlad 2y ago
    > The coca leaf itself includes the active cocaine alkaloid which may be released through chewing or consumed in a powder-like form. From Wikipedia
    - margalabargala 2y ago
      Interesting. I learned something new today :) thank you!
- bawolff 2y ago
  I think a better comparison is marketing orange juice as sugar free (because no sugar was added)
userbinator 2y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca#Commercial_and_industrial_uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca#Commercial_and_industrial... Before the criminalization of cocaine, however, the extract was not decocainized So they are right that cocaine was not intentionally added.
- metadat 2y ago
  It's correct to say the processed powdery form of cocaine was never added. But actually cocaine was intentionally added, as a byproduct of adding Coca. More complete excerpt: > Before the criminalization of cocaine, however, the extract was not decocainized, and hence Coca-Cola's original formula did indeed include cocaine. You can still get a buzz off chewing raw coca leaf, but it's not in the same ballpark as doing a line in NYC, SV, or Miami. I recall from Drugs Inc, it's more like a caffeine effect when consumed this way.
  - aeonik 2y ago
    Honestly sounds kinda nice. Sometimes, C caffeine lasts too long.
throwup238 2y ago
The only official DEA source I can find for the fact that coca leaf extract is still used to make Coca Cola is the museum page on coca: https://museum.dea.gov/exhibits/online-exhibits/cannabis-coca-and-poppy-natures-addictive-plants/coca https://museum.dea.gov/exhibits/online-exhibits/cannabis-coc... The funny thing is that the slideshow at the bottom of the page gives anyone with even a limited knowledge of alkali extraction (like DMT acid-base) everything they need to know about extracting cocaine.
- margalabargala 2y ago
  There's also a NY Times article (from 1988) discussing it. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/01/business/how-coca-cola-obtains-its-coca.html https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/01/business/how-coca-cola-ob...
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
Maxatar 2y ago
Every other source I find other than Coke's official website says otherwise, including pretty authoritative sources including the U.S. government: https://www.justthinktwice.gov/article/did-coca-cola-ever-contain-cocaine https://www.justthinktwice.gov/article/did-coca-cola-ever-co...
ruined 2y ago
>Cocaine was never a coca-cola ingredient. yeah the same way thc is not an ingredient in your roommate's special brownies
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

evandev 2y ago

Technically there was never cocaine in coca-cola. It was the coca leaf that was added which is the raw material used to make cocaine.

bongodongobob 2y ago
"cocaine" is just concentrated coca leaf. There's no chemical transformation happening. It's a purification process, like mint or vanilla extract.

kragen 2y ago

coca-cola's statement is technically true but intentionally misleading, and a lot of people are commenting based on the misconception that coca leaf doesn't contain cocaine coca leaf does contain cocaine; cocaine is not a molecule synthesized from something in the coca leaf in the way that methamphetamine is synthesized from natural pseudoephedrine. the coca leaf contains cocaine in doses significant enough to be psychoactive, which is why people 'chew' it and make tea from it. when people make refined cocaine from coca leaf, they're just concentrating the cocaine already present, not chemically changing it, except that they may change it between the free base alkakoid form and a salt with some anion like chloride coca-cola, like several other drinks of the era such as vin mariani, contained an extract of coca leaf containing a therapeutically significant dose of cocaine. it is true that it did not contain cocaine as an ingredient, but saying that and then not explaining that it did contain cocaine is lying by omission. in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41135533 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41135533 bawolff gives the excellent analogy of saying that sugar is not an ingredient in orange juice: true, but the majority of the non-water content of orange juice is still sugar

wildzzz 2y ago
It's like a fruit juice saying "no added sugar". They don't add any sugar to the juice but it's definitely not sugar-free. Same with old coke, they never added cocaine but it wasn't cocaine-free.
- kragen 2y ago
  yeah! you know what, it's almost like saying that sugar isn't an ingredient in apple juice

account42 2y ago

Surely a corporation would never lie to us.

wbshaw 2y ago

Every time I've taken the tour at the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta, the question has come up and they consistently deny it. I think next time I'll ask the question as whether or not Coco leaves were included in the original formula. I'll bet I get the wrong answer.

gorlilla 2y ago
"Is it true that prior to aggressive anti-drug legislation, the cocoa leaf extract that was used in coca-cola was not specifically de-cocainized thereby causing coca-cola to possibly contain quantities of cocaine that were possibly significant to the consumer?" Idk, just lawyer proof the question as much as possible..
- shermantanktop 2y ago
  Sure, grill the highschooler reciting the company line—that’s the way to be the most popular person in the tour group.