In the media and blogs, there is often a statement that cocaine was added to Coca-Cola. We decided to check if this is so.

In April 2022, Ilon Musk wrote On his Twitter, what is going to buy Coca-Cola to return cocaine to gas. The joke of the American billionaire has returned interest in a long -standing story about the initial recipe for the drink. In many blogs there are statementthat in Coca-Cola at the beginning of the 20th century, cocaine was contained, and even sometimes Given Dosage - 60 mg per bottle.

Officially, Coca-Cola gives clear and concise answer To this common question: “Coca-Cola does not contain cocaine or other prohibited substances, and cocaine has never been one of the Coca-Cola ingredients.” But the story is a little more complicated. On May 8, 1886, John Pemberton, Pharmacist and Veteran of the Civil War from Atlanta, Sold Local pharmacy syrup of its own manufacture. In the pharmacy, as was customary at that time, the syrup was diluted with soda water. In July 1887 Pemberton Patented Your syrup as a "tonic for nerves."

In the description of the syrup signed by Pemberton, spreading in pharmacies, the composition: Coca (plant) and stake (nuts) was indicated. And this tool helped, as advertising assured, from many ailments: nausea, neuralgia, hysteria, melancholy.

Mark Pendergrast, author of the book “For God, Country and Coca-Cola”, tellsthat Pemberton was originally selling two drinks. The second was French Wine Coca - a mixture of wine, coks, nuts of Kola and Damiana (plants containing caffeine). Pemberton borrowed the idea in France, where Mariani's Wine was sold, in which they were Mixed Bordeaux and extract of coca leaves. But in 1887 Atlanta authorities Introduced a ban on the sale of alcohol and even Spended raids on pharmacies. Pendergrast believes that Pemberton therefore turned off the sale of wine with Coca and focused on the non -alcoholic version of the drink.

At the end of the 19th century, cocaine was freely sold in pharmacies and Recommended, for example, children to reduce toothache. But scientists found more and more minuses to use drugs to the frontier of centuries, and in 1906 in the United States was released law, which regulates the sale of cocaine and other stimulating agents that can harm health. In 1914-1915 there was Accepted Another law that actually prohibited the free sale of cocaine and other substances extracted from Coca leaves. According to Pendergrast, in the period between these two laws, Coca-Cola changed the composition of the drink.

It is difficult to determine in which proportions the ingredients of the original syrup were mixed: it has always remained the secret of the company. In 1988, the article in New York Times was Published The replica of the unnamed representative of the company: "There was cocaine in the original recipe, but the drug was removed at the very beginning of the century." The fact of the Snopes NotesWhich, perhaps, was not cocaine in the syrup, but Ekgonin was an alkaloid extracted from Coca leaves. Now he is also in the international list Forbidden drugs, like other cocaine precursors.

There is no convincing direct evidence of the presence of cocaine in Coca-Cola of the late 19th century, the company itself categorically denies such a recipe. But the historical context suggests that this is possible. American National Institute for the Study of Drug Establishment (NIDA) Notesthat cocaine was the main active substance in many elixirs and tonic drinks at the beginning of the 20th century. This is also evidenced by the parallel sale of Coca-Cola and a similar alcoholic beverage. Finally, the leaves of Coca (however, devoid of any narcotic effect) are still used in the production of syrup for Coca-Cola. For this Envived A special laboratory in the state of New Jersey, receiving raw materials from Chile and Bolivia.

Images on the cover and inside the publication: Wikipedia