Coca-Cola's Original Recipe Had Cocaine In It! Here's Everything You Need To Know

Elon Musk's 'next target' is Coca-Cola as the Tesla founder took to Twitter to express his desire to buy the beverage company only "to put the cocaine back in". Now, we cannot say for sure whether the billionaire is just cracking a joke or is actually serious.

However, whatever the case may be, it is definitely a pleasant reminder that the dearly-loved soft drink has changed so much from what it was - laced with cocaine. So, we thought, why not refresh our memory and learn how the beverage company's legendary recipe came to be.

Unsplash

Since science is always evolving - constantly discovering new things about drugs, such as the health benefits and risks of using (or abusing) them. Now, sometimes, such discoveries lead to changes in the way a drug is presently consumed. The biggest example of this is the original recipe for Coca-Cola which contained the now-illegal drug, cocaine.

It is common knowledge that Coca-Cola's erstwhile formula was invented in 1885 by John Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia, US. He invented the world-famous soft drink in his backyard.

Pemberton's original recipe contained cocaine in the form of an extract of the coca leaf, which inspired the "Coca" part of the aerated beverage's name. The name "Cola" comes from the kola nut (which contains caffeine).

John Pemberton

Needless to say, cocaine was legal at the time, and a common ingredient in medicines. People considered it to be safe when used in small amounts.

According to Pemberton, the drink was a ¡°brain tonic and intellectual beverage,¡± and he advertised it as a ¡°patent medicine.¡± He claimed that the drink had the power to cure - headaches, upset stomach, and fatigue.

Patent medicines were combinations of so-called ¡°exotic¡± ingredients and drug compounds that¡ªaccording to the people who made them¡ªcured a wide range of ailments. However, they often contained ingredients we now know can be addictive, including cocaine and opium, along with other toxic elements such as mercury and lead.

Wikipedia

Back in the 19th century, patent medicines weren¡¯t supervised like medications are today, and the regulations were much more relaxed. Anyone had the liberty to claim their product had health benefits without having to prove its effectiveness, or reveal its side effects. It was only in 1891 that some Americans spoke out against including addictive ingredients in patent medicines.

This led the makers of Coca-Cola to alter the 'medicine's' formula, and took the "coke" out of the recipe. The amount of cocaine was reduced over time and finally terminated from the drink's recipe in 1929.

Unsplash

For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.