Sentence
“Then I’m going to buy Coke to put cocaine in him again.”
Elon Musk, Director of Tesla and SpaceX
Context
When his proposal to buy the social network Twitter was approved on Monday, Elon Musk did Tweet where he mentioned that he would then buy Coca-Cola to add cocaine again. But did Coca-Cola really contain cocaine throughout its history? And if so, when?
fact
Coca-Cola’s original and patented prescription actually contained cocaine, according to the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, as Susana Soares, a researcher in the chemistry and technology network at the University of Porto’s faculty.
“However, we’re talking about an original recipe that takes us back to 1885,” the scientist studying the taste of food contextualizes. “It’s important to note that this original prescription was originally marketed for medical purposes to relieve headaches, nausea, and other problems. Only later was Coca-Cola made as a soft drink.
Next, I buy Coca-Cola to put back the cocaine
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 28, 2022
As for the amounts of cocaine, Susana Soares says that based on what she was able to detect, they were in the small, milligram range. In addition, the scientist points out that cocaine was a legal and common ingredient in medicines at the time. “However, when the addictive effects of cocaine, among other things, were observed, there was great public pressure to remove it from the drink.”
And when did you stop using cocaine? According to the researcher, the facts suggest that the amount of cocaine in the drink decreased in 1903. After that date, there would be only small amounts in Coca-Cola. The complete elimination of cocaine was not announced until 1929.
In summary
Yeah, Coca-Cola once contained cocaine, as Elon Musk said. Everything happened in its early years and even when it was marketed for pharmaceutical purposes.