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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.

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)
  - mrguyorama 2y ago
    You cannot market orange juice as sugar free. Only "No sugar added" "Sugar Free" is based entirely on the amount of sugar per serving size of finished product. It does not care where the sugar came from. Any product that contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving can be labeled "Sugar Free". This has the fun outcome that tiny candies made entirely of sugar can be sold as "Sugar Free"
    - bawolff 2y ago
      > You cannot market orange juice as sugar free. Only "No sugar added" Indeed, that was the point of the meraphor. By the same token it is wrong to say origi nal coca-cola was cocaine free.
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]

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)
- mrguyorama 2y ago
  You cannot market orange juice as sugar free. Only "No sugar added" "Sugar Free" is based entirely on the amount of sugar per serving size of finished product. It does not care where the sugar came from. Any product that contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving can be labeled "Sugar Free". This has the fun outcome that tiny candies made entirely of sugar can be sold as "Sugar Free"
  - bawolff 2y ago
    > You cannot market orange juice as sugar free. Only "No sugar added" Indeed, that was the point of the meraphor. By the same token it is wrong to say origi nal coca-cola was cocaine free.

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
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