Cocaine Test Prompts Red Bull Removal In Germany 290
viyh writes to mention that six German states have mandated pulling Red Bull Cola energy drinks off the shelves after testing found trace amounts of cocaine in the drink. "Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment said Monday that the cocaine level was too low to pose a health risk. It planned to produce a more detailed report Wednesday. Red Bull said its cola is 'harmless and marketable in both the US and Europe.' It said similar coca leaf extracts are used worldwide as flavoring, and a test it commissioned itself found no cocaine traces."
Re:Cool story bro (Score:2, Interesting)
Of course, you have folks out there who are banning hemp because marijuana gets people high. But they should go after the malt liquor industry if they want to catch the low-hanging fruit.
There's no way in hell that Old English 800 [wikipedia.org] and Steel reserve [wikipedia.org] are just barley, hops, and yeast. They cause psychotropic effects similar to PCP.
This really isnt suprising (Score:5, Interesting)
They would of course have a very small amount in the drink. Not enough to break laws, but enough to make people go "Lets get this! It's cocaine!" if it would ever be discovered. Marketing at its best folks.
Coca-Cola next ? (Score:2, Interesting)
So Coca-Cola, that still uses Coca extracts in the beverage might also contain "trace amounts" of the substance.. Greedy regulators might have missed a bigger target here.
Re:Bottoms Up. (Score:1, Interesting)
Coca Cola originally contained trace amounts of cocaine and it still contains spent coca leaves as an ingredient (the extracted cocaine is then purified and sold for pharmaceutical use, generally as a topical anesthetic).
Re:Bottoms Up. (Score:5, Interesting)
Coca cola already contains real Coca, with the cocaine removed. There is only one company licensed to import Coca leafs into the US, and as far as I'm aware they only sell the extract to Coca Cola.
Nice way to get a legal monopoly on that special "Coca Cola" flavor, no?
Oh yeah? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:The War on (some) Drugs (Score:5, Interesting)
I would imagine, since we're talking about nanogram amounts per liter, the expenditure would have to far exceed what they'd pay if they obtained it from a drug dealer.
Should be easy enough to calculate:
Pure cocaine sells for, let's [yahoo.com] say [answers.com], $30,000 per kg. To get a kilogram of cocaine from RedBull would take 2.5 billion liters [google.com], or roughly 7 billion 12 oz cans [google.com]. A 24-case of Red Bull seems to cost about $34.80 [bodyconcept.com], or $1.45 per can.
In other words, to get 1 kg of cocaine from Red Bull would cost $10 billion, not to mention the enormous expense of purification. And all this would only be worth $30,000. It would cost 340,000 times more for the Red Bull than the cocaine would be worth.
As you said, the numbers don't exactly add up. Not even close.
Re:So _that's_ how it works... (Score:5, Interesting)
Less than one molecule per liter? That's the homeopathic equivalent to a placebo. The strong stuff is measured in molecules per cubic lightyear. [skepticwiki.org] Boy, it sure is a good thing we as a civilization don't treat health problems magic water, huh?
Re:The War on (some) Drugs (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:The War on (some) Drugs (Score:2, Interesting)
Where do they get the Coke? (Score:3, Interesting)
Since they should get big shipments of it to use for their production, wouldn't the police make a raid at their production facility? it would be a pretty big bust wouldn't it?
Re:Cool story bro (Score:3, Interesting)
Lego and train sets? Basic and Pascal?
When you get drunk, its all cool, maybe you flirt, sing, dance or want to code or just get sleepy?
Others unlock a more hidden past of pain, destruction and blood.
Re:Bottoms Up. (Score:3, Interesting)
Best Coca Cola is from Monterrey Mexico.
http://www.e-arca.com.mx/default_i.asp [e-arca.com.mx]
The original wasp shaped blue glass bottles. Real sugar. Real secret ingredient.
This is something that hasn't been made in the United States except that produced for passover since the 'new' coke fiasco.
Re:Bottoms Up. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:The War on (some) Drugs (Score:5, Interesting)
Since neither marijuana nor LSD are addictive, you might want to reconsider some of your wording Mr Troll.
All we here is the wonderful hippie wonderland where everybody gets high 24/7 and somehow that doesn't fuck everything up.
Almost no-one is advocating "getting high 24/7" - we advocate reasonable laws to allow people to make some personal choices and accept the responsibilities of those choices if they're badly made. If a guy buys cocaine and uses it, no problem from my point of view. If he buys cocaine and beats the crap out of someone since he's the type of person who gets violent on it, then he should be arrested for assault - no different to alcohol. If various drugs were legalised, then yes, there'd be people who abuse them, but I don't think it'd be a significantly different number to the number of people that abuse them now. Just as there are people that abuse alcohol currently, but the vast majority of us that do drink it are able to do so in moderation without being permanently drunk.
The vast majority of the problems are because they're illegal. The guy I get my LSD from is a pretty shady sort of character, and I wouldn't put it past him to do other criminal things such as theft and perhaps even physical violence. If I could avoid ever seeing that dickhead again, buy my acid from a pharmacy, and hear he's gone out of business, then I'd be a very happy man.
full disclosure:
I don't use marijuana - don't like the feeling it gives.
I also don't use cocaine, but mostly due to the price/performance factor (it's way too expensive for so little effect) as well as some concerns about the health risks.
I do use LSD though on a fairly regular basis - up to around 6 times per year on average these days, but much more when I was younger. I love the things it does to me, and consider myself a much better person for having had it.
Despite this, I'm in favour of the legalisation of all three (and more), not just my "preferred" substance(s).
No RedBull for the French either (Score:2, Interesting)
I was surprised, while living in France last year, that RedBull is illegal. I was even more surprised when they told me you can buy Poppers at clothing shops like nothing happens. Any Frenchie care to comment on it??
Re:Cool story bro (Score:3, Interesting)