did coca cola really put cocaine in their soda?

Answer 1

Yeah.. way back in the begining (1885). Indeed, that is the origin of the name. The exact amount is unknown, probably because a natural extraction process was used (coupled with the fact that chemical science was not so great at the time). However, by 1891 they cut the cocaine content down to a mere trace, when word hit the streets about the negative effects of cocaine.

It was there until 1929, when it was removed entirely.

Answer 2

Cocaine Soda

Answer 3

Coca Cola did use to have small traces of cocaine in their soft drink up until around 1958 or 59. Small amounts but apparently enough, according to the FDA to cause it to be addictive and give that "buzz" of energy. My older sister swears that's how she became "addicted" to Coca Cola back in the 50's but even without the cocaine she's still hooked. Now ... bear in mind this is what I was told by my sister who is now in her 60's.

Answer 4

When Coca Cola was first invented, the formula did have extract from the coca plant, which is the same plant that you get cocaine from, but it wasn't the actual cocaine put in the drink. It did have similar effects of cocaine, though. But remember that back then people used cocaine to relieve many things, from depression to a toothache.

Answer 5

when coca cola was first made back in the mid 1800's it was sold as a medicinal for just about everything, and the reason it was so popular was because it did indeed have cocaine as one of the ingredients. Since about 1910, when cocaine was made a controlled substance coke transfigured into a soda pop and has been ever since.

Answer 6

The History of Coca Cola
From Mary Bellis,
Your Guide to Inventors.
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John Pemberton was the inventor of Coca Cola
In May, 1886, Coca Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia. John Pemberton concocted the Coca Cola formula in a three legged brass kettle in his backyard. The name was a suggestion given by John Pemberton's bookkeeper Frank Robinson.

Birth of Coca Cola
Being a bookkeeper, Frank Robinson also had excellent penmanship. It was he who first scripted "Coca Cola" into the flowing letters which has become the famous logo of today.
The soft drink was first sold to the public at the soda fountain in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta on May 8, 1886.

About nine servings of the soft drink were sold each day. Sales for that first year added up to a total of about $50. The funny thing was that it cost John Pemberton over $70 in expanses, so the first year of sales were a loss.

Until 1905, the soft drink, marketed as a tonic, contained extracts of cocaine as well as the caffeine-rich kola nut.


Asa Candler
In 1887, another Atlanta pharmacist and businessman, Asa Candler bought the formula for Coca Cola from inventor John Pemberton for $2,300. By the late 1890s, Coca Cola was one of America's most popular fountain drinks, largely due to Candler's aggressive marketing of the product. With Asa Candler, now at the helm, the Coca Cola Company increased syrup sales by over 4000% between 1890 and 1900.
Advertising was an important factor in John Pemberton and Asa Candler's success and by the turn of the century, the drink was sold across the United States and Canada. Around the same time, the company began selling syrup to independent bottling companies licensed to sell the drink. Even today, the US soft drink industry is organized on this principle.


Death of the Soda Fountain - Rise of the Bottling Industry
Until the 1960s, both small town and big city dwellers enjoyed carbonated beverages at the local soda fountain or ice cream saloon. Often housed in the drug store, the soda fountain counter served as a meeting place for people of all ages. Often combined with lunch counters, the soda fountain declined in popularity as commercial ice cream, bottled soft drinks, and fast food restaurants became popular.

New Coke
On April 23, 1985, the trade secret "New Coke" formula was released. Today, products of the Coca Cola Company are consumed at the rate of more than one billion drinks per day.

Answer 7

Yes, in the beginning coca cola has small amounts of cocain in their soda. It was forbidden in the US in the late 50's or early 60's but continued in Europe till the mid 70's.

Answer 8

Invented in 1886, the original formula contained extracts of the African Kola nut and Coca leaves. Which was only one of thousands of medicines created in the 1800's that contained traces of cocaine.

Answer 9

It was more that they didn't take it out. They used coca leaves to make the stuff, and didn't extract the trace amounts (less than 1 part in 50 million) of cocaine that the leaves contributed.

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/cocaine.asp

Answer 10

they used to put coca leaves in it. The formula is a secret but they still might put some of the flavor in without the active cocaine ingredient.