Fact Check: Was There Cocaine in Coca Cola?

The short answer is yes, Coca-Cola did once contain cocaine.
This leads us to further questions. Does Coca-Cola still contain cocaine nowadays? When did Coca-Cola stop using cocaine? In this resource, Avenues Recovery, leading experts on drug and alcohol addiction, reveal the background of cocaine in Coca-Cola.

Was There Cocaine in Coca-Cola?

The National Institute of Drug Abuse says that the earliest runs of Coca-Cola did include cocaine. Coke was originally sold as a patent medicine, and cocaine was a common medicinal ingredient used widely by physicians at the time.

Coca-Cola is one of the world's most popular beverages, best known for its unique flavor. An Atlanta, Georgia pharmacist named John Pemberton was the original inventor of the Coca-Cola recipe in 1885, first preparing it in his backyard. The company first started manufacturing in 1886, and the drink's wild popularity has turned it into an icon across the planet. The drink was marketed as a tonic that could cure various ailments, including fatigue and headaches. It was sold in drugstore soda fountains which were then popular in the US. Coca-Cola may have an excellent reputation today, but what dark secret does its past hide?

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there was less knowledge and regulations on drugs in the U.S., and cocaine was considered a wonder drug. It was used as a local anesthetic, stimulant, and to treat various ailments such as headaches and toothaches - even for children.

In 2022, Elon Musk joked on Twitter about buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in. Read on to learn more about the validity of his claim.

Where Does the Name Coca-Cola Come From?

Despite its background, the name "Coca-Cola" does not come from cocaine. 

The reason for its name was as follows:

Coca: The drink contained coca leaf extracts, hence the first part of the drink’s name.

Cola: The word "cola" comes from the Kola nut, which contains caffeine, another mental stimulant. Pemberton bought the caffeine content for his drink from a company that derived it from kola nuts.

The Truth About Coca-Cola's Coca-Leaf Extract

Coca-Cola uses a coca leaf extract made by Stepan Company at its Maywood, New Jersey plant. This facility, originally called Maywood Chemical Works and bought by Stepan in 1959, is the only place in the U.S. authorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration to import coca leaves, mostly from Peru and Bolivia. Each year, about 100 metric tons of dried coca leaves are imported. The Stepan company removes the cocaine through a very complex process, creating a cocaine-free extract that goes to Coca-Cola for their drinks. The leftover cocaine is sold to Mallinckrodt, the only pharmaceutical company in the United States licensed to purify cocaine for medical uses.

Medicinal Coca-Cola

At the time of Coke's invention, cocaine was completely legal and easily usable in small amounts, allowing Pemberton to market the product as an ideal solution for headaches, fatigue, nausea, etc. Such patent medicines allowed people to "cure" many common ailments and contained many substances today considered addictive.

Coca-Cola also contained toxic elements like mercury and lead. Medicines were largely unregulated in the 1900s, allowing anyone to claim that their concoction boasted a host of health benefits - with zero proof or oversight.

Mixing cocaine and alcohol creates cocaethylene, which acts like cocaine and causes a heightened state of euphoria. However, Pemberton replaced the alcohol from the recipe with sugar syrup as a result of a local prohibition law, creating the iconic drink.

Asa Candler, another Atlanta pharmacist, purchased Coca-Cola and its rights from Pemberton in 1888 and created the official Coca-Cola Company. Candler started branding Coca-Cola as a non-medicinal beverage that could be served at every table in America.

Coke was originally available only to an elite societal group. Its popularity grew when it began being sold in glass bottles in 1899, and it quickly took off as a popular consumer medicinal cure-all. Many news sources reported an increase in cases of molestation, burglary, and other crimes at that time, which some attributed to Cola-Cola’s rise in popularity.

When Did They Stop Putting Cocaine in Coca-Cola?

By 1929 Coca-Cola was completely cocaine-free. The drink no longer has cocaine, but the brand faced some severe public backlash when these facts resurfaced. Here's the journey of Coca-Cola in brief:

• The earliest batches from Pemberton's times contained 9mg of cocaine per glass.
• Candler's formula contained only a tenth of this amount
• Coca-Cola stopped using cocaine from fresh coca leaves in 1903. Now only "spent" coca leaves were used, containing only trace amounts of cocaine.
• In the 1920s, public pressure grew to remove cocaine from Coke, prompting the company to remove all of the addictive substances from the formula by 1929. 

Coca Cola’s Stance

Coca-Cola denies any claims, saying that Coca-Cola never had cocaine as an added ingredient. However, most independent sources believe that there were at least trace amounts of cocaine in Coca-Cola at one time.

Coca-Cola will forever be in hot water for adding cocaine to its original recipe; the claim resurfaces on the internet and social media platforms regularly. Many critics also claim that cocaine use is why Coca-Cola keeps its full recipe a closely guarded secret, but no one knows the truth.

Coca-Cola's Secret Ingredient

Coca-Cola has always had a unique recipe, but what’s more interesting is its secret, heavily guarded ingredient called “7X flavor”. No one knows what the ingredient is, but many believe there could be cocaine in the formula.

Mark Pendergrast, the author of the book “God, Country and Coca Cola” (an unauthorized company history), claims that only two people know how to mix the 7X formula correctly, and neither of them can travel on the same plane in case it crashes.

He further states that the recipe is secured in a vault and carefully passed down as a ritual from generation to generation.

Coca-Cola is the most popular beverage in the world, renowned for its unparalleled quality and taste. There is no definite answer as to whether Coke has cocaine, but perhaps one day we will find out the truth. One thing we know, we all love Coca-Cola, and we can raise a glass to that.

Are you or a loved one suffering from a cocaine addiction? It’s time to break the cycle. Reach out to our admissions team today. We are standing by to guide you home.

To learn how cocaine is made for medicinal and recreational use, read our online resource.